Rekindle and Release
by Azure Blue Flames
Summary: After centuries of aimless wandering, Mokou finally meets Kaguya.  After centuries of being locked inside Eientei, Kaguya finally meets Mokou.   It goes downhill from there.  Rated T for murder, but that should have been obvious.
1. Chapter 1

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 1~**

**A/N: **_From Mokou's chapter of Cage in Lunatic Runagate:_

"_For the first three hundred years, other people hated me, and I lived a sad life of one who only caused trouble to myself and those around me if I didn't stay in hiding._

"_The next three hundred years I spent harboring a grudge against this world, and was able to preserve the faintest sense of identity by immediately dispatching anything that crossed my path, youkai or otherwise._

"_For the next three hundred years the youkai in the area couldn't hold my interest anymore, and I lost all motivation towards anything, surrendering to tedium._

"_But during the next three hundred years, I was finally reunited with my immortal archrival, and we discovered the joys of killing each other, over and over."_

**~.*.~**

Boredom played strange tricks on my mind. I'd known about the little village for, oh, maybe a century, give or take the odd decade, but I'd never gone near it. No, for all those years, I hadn't the motivation to explore my little section of the wilderness, much less a human settlement. I'd given up. I hadn't cared, not about anything, really.

Still didn't, as a matter of fact.

But lately I'd been thinking, and that was the problem, because I didn't really want to be thinking about anything. Not about the future, not about the present, and please, by any god or gods, not about the past. I didn't want a past. I didn't need a past, not like this.

How long had it been? Since it-felt-like-forever ago, I had existed emotionlessly, mindlessly, until I could believe that I was dead. I surrendered, that's it, no more self. For three hundred – or was it four hundred? – years, this cursed body was an empty shell, devoid of any spark of consciousness.

…Of course, that wasn't true.

Not today, at least, I thought with a bitter sigh. And it hadn't been true yesterday, though I couldn't vouch for the day before that. I had been so, so tired with this world, I had fallen into the soothing nothingness. And as fate, or luck, or whatever had it, that _still_ didn't get rid of the boredom.

If it didn't matter at all, why not go see the village? I had thought, which was an incredibly, irredeemably stupid idea. How many times had that gone wrong before? How many times did I have to get burned before the warning took hold?

But I didn't want to think about the past. So I didn't, and now I stood awkwardly at the edge of the forest, not really sure what to do with myself. Also, there was another human in front of me. A little girl with long-ish, dark hair that shimmered a kind of blue color. That was probably important, now that I thought about it. That there was a human near me, yeah. She might tell her parents about me. And her parents might tell their neighbors, and their neighbors might tell their friends, and soon enough, there would be a mob out for my blood.

I hate dying. It hurts, damn it.

"…are you even listening?" The girl was saying something. To me, that is. "Hello, Ms. Stranger?"

I should be running in the other direction, and fast, part of me was saying, but it was swiftly overruled by curiosity. This was interesting. When was the last time I'd had a conversation, a real one, not talking to myself, by myself?

"Um, Dad said something about a youkai lurking around." She squinted at me, but with curiosity, not malice. "Ms. Stranger, have you seen her? Or," And here her eyes widened into saucers with a plateful of fear. "Are _you_ the youkai?"

She clutched her books tightly to her frilly blue dress, as if the scraps of paper would somehow protect her from me. From _me_. But I hadn't done anything, not yet! I withdrew my hands from my pockets, just to make sure. Nope, no blood, no fire. Yet.

"Uh, did you hear me, Ms. Stranger? Are you okay?" She frowned in puzzlement, then muttered under her breath. "no, try again. Sensei always says be polite, especially with youkai. It might save your life if-"

"Maybe. If you're lucky." She jumped when I spoke, and nearly dropped those books.

"I-I'm sorry Ms. Stranger, if I offended you!" She smoothed down her dress and adjusted her little hat. "I don't meet many youkai, but I'm, um, pleased to meet you!" The girl bowed to me, and some odd corner of past told me to bow back. Be polite. I was a nobleman's daughter, wasn't I?

Not anymore, no.

"Er, um… what's your name, Ms. Stranger? Or, no, I should say mine first, shouldn't I?"

Well, since I was on that subject, even if I didn't want to be, I might as well say it. So: "Mokou." There was another half too, not that it really belonged to me any more. I hadn't been a Fujiwara in eight centuries… nine centuries… a millennium, actually.

It would be more accurate to call me a disgrace.

"That's a pretty name." A dreamy look entered those brownish eyes of hers. "Hmmm… do you have a last name? And how do you spell it? Sensei's been teaching me some history behind different –" A quick movement in the doorway of one of the houses distracted me, and I missed the rest of her sentence.

"_You_!" I turned to face the owner of the interruption, knowing the tone meant bad news. Sure enough, "Get away from my daughter, youkai scum!"

I judged the distance. He was standing across a wide street, while the girl and I were on the far edge of a field beyond it. He couldn't hit me from here, could he? Not with that tiny crossbow…

Oh, I was wrong. The girl screamed and covered her head with her arms as the bolt clattered off of the bamboo over my shoulder. He was quite a good shot. Huh.

"Daddy, stop! I'm okay!"

No, no she wasn't. Had I been a youkai, she would have been dinner by now, or possibly a midafternoon snack, as the sun was still quite high. Anyway, since I didn't like getting killed, I blasted away the next bolt with a burst of flame.

Of course the girl shrieked at that. Humans - other humans – always do. And yes, now she was the one backing away, holding her books like a highly flammable shield. Bad idea, all things considered. Not that I was in the mood to do anything about it.

A third bolt whizzed into my arm, and I hissed in pain before returning fire. I let my shots go wide, though, and they dissipated before they could even scorch the grass. What was the point? He was doing the smart thing, protecting his child from dangers like me. Even if I wasn't being dangerous now. But it's the thought that counts, I've learned. It's that particular one that gets me killed so often. They never listened, and better safe than sorry, yeah? Better to kill one suspicious maybe-human than risk a youkai getting near your precious daughter…

A book hit me in the side. "Bad youkai! Don't you dare attack Daddy! " That, however, was unexpected. "Die!" She whacked my hip with the book again, so I jerked it out of her hands.

"Hey, give it back!" I looked from the book to her, then back, and set the weapon aflame. She shrieked in terror, and her father started firing that crossbow again.

I'd had enough.

I aimed one last fireball at the man near the house, then kicked off into the bamboo. It was a game of chance, whether or not I would get caught, whether or not they would think me dangerous enough to pursue. Somehow, I had gotten lucky. As I dove through the gaps in the shoots, their shouts faded behind me, and I felt a smile creep across my face.

I wasn't quite so crushingly bored, so that was good. And I hadn't died either, that was an unexpected plus.

But as I slowed and touched back down on the leaf-strewn paths of the forest, that half-smile slowly became a twisted grimace. No, I wasn't bored, but now I was thinking. About the past.

About _my_ past.

And when I thought about my past, I couldn't help but think about _her_.

Yes, when I had first become immortal, I had thought it a blessing. A miracle, the best day of my short life. And for a brief, forgettable time, eternity had been wonderful when I thought I could spend it on revenge. And many years after everyone else had died, I still wanted that revenge. And many years after _she_ had long since disappeared, I still searched for her.

But the years have turned to decades, the decades to centuries…

I think it must have been a thousand years since I swore revenge. A thousand years since I drank her elixir and cursed myself with her immortality.

Eternity was not meant for humans. I know, because it broke me and burned me, then scattered the ashes over the drip, drip, always dripping away years. I have given up. Am I human? Am I youkai? It's not like I'm good terms with either. And wherever Kaguya is, it's not somewhere I can reach.

So I tell myself I don't care. Hell, she probably doesn't even know who I am.

…But if she did, I think she'd be laughing.

**~.*.~**

"Kaguya, is something wrong? You haven't moved since last week."

I blinked and stretched, my reverie disrupted. Looking up, I saw my teacher framed in the doorway.

"No, Eirin, I'm fine."

She shrugged and moved to leave me, then halted to say something.

"Hmm…?" I had returned to staring out the window. Such a pretty sunset. It was one of many pleasures I could only enjoy here on earth.

"I said, have you seen Tewi?"

"Who?" The clouds were a beautiful shade of pink, almost matching the shirt I always wear. One of them kind of looked like a rabbit if I squinted and tilted my head to the side.

"The rabbit with the necklace, princess."

Oh, right. I leaned my head on the window, letting the cool surface press against my skin. The rabbit. The one that played tricks that drove Eirin up the wall. Inaba. Actually, I call all rabbits inaba, but that one is _the_ Inaba. She was the only rabbit that talked to me. Or was she? All these Earth rabbits look the same. Little girls in frilly dresses with big mallets.

Although I don't think they will ever make mochi that tastes like the kind made by lunar rabbits. That's something I still haven't found on Earth. But there are lots of other things to make up for it. Like the pretty things Eirin found for me. Or did she make them? I'm not sure. To think that humans had such trouble with them when they were just lying around for anyone to pick up… hm? I blinked again, startled this time by a hand on my shoulder. Eirin wanted something? But the clouds were so beautiful…

Eirin put her other hand on my right shoulder and shook me gently. "Kaguya?" She pushed back my black hair. "Kaguya? Wake up, please."

"Mmhmm…" I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus on the present. "Inaba? No, haven't seen her."

"I'll have to go out and look for her, then. Goodnight, princess." Blue and red flickered in the corner of my vision and I was alone again.

Nighttime, almost. Yet wasn't tired, nor have I been for many years. I spend my days in a dreamy trance, letting the power of eternity seep into my home. It's a simple spell, one that I have maintained ever since I came here. I don't even need to think about it any more.

As the last bit of sun sank below the bamboo, I finally turned away from the window and padded down to Eirin's lab. Inside were hundreds of bottles, all filled with the strangest of things. Eirin tells me not to touch them. But they fascinate me, the fluffy powders and shimmering liquids.

What would happen if I tried this one? Or this?

No. I must do as Eirin says.

More than a thousand years ago, I had disobeyed her once. Only once.

It had started as a selfish whim, a forbidden experiment to see if I could control my power and put it into a tangible form. It should have ended with my loss of status and the subsequent elimination of my impurity. But they gave up trying to execute me when I didn't stay dead.

My powers tend to work a little too well sometimes. With Eirin's help, I had created an elixir of immortality…

Why was I here again?

"Princess?"

I slowly turned to see Eirin standing behind me, her bow over her shoulder.

I wonder where she got it. She's had it ever since I existed, but no one on the moon made weapons like that anymore. Perhaps she kept it for sentimental reasons? My mentor has always been full of surprises…

Eirin was giving me a strange look. "Can I help you, Princess?" She tapped the bow. "I'll be outside for a few hours, so if you need me-"

"Don't go." Oh, yes. That was why I had come here.

"What?"

"I will."

"You'll go looking for Tewi?" She frowned, her dark gray eyes glinting with worry. "I can't let you, Kaguya. It's not safe."

"Please, Eirin? I haven't been outside in…" Days? Months? Years? I've never been good with keeping track.

My mentor smiled fleetingly. "A century, Princess."

"Oh." Had it really been that long? Well, I trusted Eirin's judgment more than my own. "So, can I go outside? Just for a little while?"

Several emotions warred on her face, eventually settling on resignation. "Very well. I suppose you can take care of yourself, after all. Be careful, though, understand?"

"Yes, Eirin." I brushed past her to get to the one door that led outside.

"Oh, and before you leave, take a knife to mark the bamboo. I don't want to have to go looking for you _and_ Tewi."

"Yes, Eirin."

I'll get lost anyway, of course. But that's okay, because I like wandering around when I get the chance.

Even after so many years on this earth, it still amazes me. The Lunarian landscape is pure but lifeless, just as I was so long ago. Now I am tainted with the stain of life and death, yet I live at Eientei, the house of eternity. A place held in complete stasis, where the lunar emissaries will never find me. Here nothing changes, and nothing ever will.

_I_ do not change. I have never changed. I will never change. Such is the miracle of my power.

Sometimes I wonder if I've really left the moon at all…

**~.*.~**

_**A/N: **__For anyone who doesn't know, this is a revised version of the first chapter. Well, actually, Mokou's part is completely rewritten, but the events are pretty much the same._ _When I was rereading the original version, her part began to bug me, especially the annoying verbal tic I'd given the village girl. I also tried to make Mokou's narration a little more distinctive, at the cost of her sanity, apparently. Does she sound too much like Kaguya now? Hmmm…_

_I'd also considered eliminating the first-person POV like I did in my Azula stories, but since it's kind of essential to the point of the fic, I can't really do that._

_And if none of the above made any sense to you, welcome, new reader! I hope you like my little story~!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 2~**

Unsurprisingly, I couldn't sleep. It wasn't guilt or nightmares any more, though - I had left those behind centuries ago. But old habits die hard, and there is something about the night that leaves me restless.

I shook off the clinging leaves and crawled through the little opening in the bamboo. I don't exactly have a house. More like a hollow thicket, actually. I think, for a long time, I planned to build a house, now that I'd been here for I-don't-know-how-many years. Yet such was the way of immortality that I could put it off 'til tomorrow forever. And I wasn't uncomfortable, so no one cared. Not at all.

The night air was pleasant, and I stretched to let my wings fan out into the ethereal fog. Though they crackled and hissed like living flames, the aura that surrounded me wasn't quite the same. Rather, it was more of an illusion, something I had picked up over the years and never thought to get rid of.

If people call me a phoenix, I won't say no. It's better. Dignified. More so than other names they often used.

My eye was suddenly caught by a rustle in the undergrowth. Perhaps a fairy, running at the mere sight of me? Smart creature, that one. Yes, the youkai around here had quickly learned to leave me alone. Or else. Extermination, that's another thing I haven't quite forgotten. Always comes in handy, anyway. But another part of me wished that I hadn't been so quick with the aggression, because it would be nice to battle something again. As it is, I am the only being to frequent this part of the forest. It has become my territory of sorts.

No – my home. Only youkai speak of territories.

Yet, if this place is my home, then I have overstayed my welcome. My immortal nature forces me to wander. What if the villagers should see me again? I had best leave, now. Just in case.

I craned my neck back to look up at the half-hidden sky. A new moon, and clouds covered the stars. I was the only light source around. Ah well, maybe I was safe here. For a few more decades, anyway. And where would I go? I was tired of travelling, of praying to forget and be forgotten.

But even the wings sparking and flickering at my back were a reminder, so that's a futile goal. And I'm grateful, really, for the flames. They're alive. Alive in a way the elixir stole from me long, long ago. The fact that I had fought hard to get this power is only a bonus. If I had to remember, I wanted to remember my triumphs, as few as they were.

Back then, I _was_ the fire, leaping and dancing and burning and oh so _alive_ for once, but that soon died away.

I was ash, really, nothing but ash and regrets…

No. Enough of these thoughts. I knelt down and shrank the translucent aura around me into an ember-like glow. It would be better if I could forget the past and just go back to sleep. Yeah.

Just as I was about to turn around and go back inside, another movement in the bushes startled me. A second fairy? I squinted; the light from my wings had utterly ruined my night vision. Unless the flames were playing tricks on my eyes, though, there was something human-size struggling through the bushes up ahead.

"Who's there?" A challenge, not a question. I must be in luck. No human would be out this far in the wilderness and this late at night, so it was probably some nocturnal youkai. A smile began to form at the corner of my mouth.

"Hm? Oh, pretty~!" She – I could tell that much – stepped further into the light, and a bit of metal glinted at her side.

That was unusual. Youkai rarely used weapons. Was it too weak to defend itself with magic? Well, whatever. I prepared myself for a fight, summoning real flames into my open palms. But I should still give her some warning, I suppose. I wasn't the creature who attacked randomly, unwarrantedly. Not anymore.

"Leave now. Or taste _fire_."

"Oh, that doesn't sound good…" Against all reason, she came even closer, close enough that I could begin to make out her features. And she was strange, possessing unearthly beauty. It made me pause. This was no common forest youkai, that was certain. It was as if she had stepped straight out of a dream. Or was I the one dreaming?

A pleasant dream, then. I would enjoy this, I thought.

"Well, I haven't seen anyone else, so I might as well ask you." She wore a vague smile, I noticed, not a truly welcoming one, but not the eager one of a hunter cornering prey either. That last was mine. "Have you seen my pet rabbit? She's got white ears, and um," Here she stooped a little and gestured with her delicate hand. "About this tall…"

I tilted my head to the side, puzzled. That voice, that glossy black hair… yes, it was familiar. Somehow. And she didn't seem to fear me at all, nor did she prepare to meet me in battle. Was this some youkai trick? I closed my hands into fists and slowly shook my head. No, I hadn't seen any rabbit, not today.

"Ah, that's a pity. But maybe you can help me with something else." She flicked a lock of hair away from her perfect face, and brought her sleeve to her mouth to hide a giggle. "I do believe I've gotten lost, and Eirin said to be back by midnight. Can you help me find the right path?"

I considered the options. I could strike first, and she would almost certainly retaliate. A short battle. Boredom after. But she intrigued me, this monster who seemed so, so familiar. Had I fought her before, perhaps? I was curious, and I was bored.

So, like my last encounter, curiosity won out over common sense. "Sure." Where could she possibly be going, anyway?

"Great!" This earned me a swift, cheerful grin. "I could use the company. It's so creepy out here, isn't it?" She reached for my hand, but I shied away and cast my eyes over the bamboo. If she was scared of the dangers of the forest, she had come the wrong place, really. I was the most dangerous creature around by a wide margin.

When I still refused to take her hand, she shrugged and motioned for me to follow her. "We're looking for Eientei."

As this was nothing I'd heard of before, I regarded her with a blank, uncomprehending stare.

She winked, then laughed again at my expression, and I felt something in me twist, it was so familiar.

"You." The word spilled out of me, I couldn't hold it back. "Your… name?" It was important, deathly important, but I wasn't sure why.

"Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" She adjusted the satchel hanging from her shoulder and bowed slightly. Mockingly? "I am Kaguya Hourai-"

For a second there, everything stopped, I swear. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe.

Then it went _clear_, so clear that it hurt.

_Kaguya._

It wasn't a conscious reaction. I should have, could have asked for proof. Should have doubted the word of some figment of a dream. But I didn't, didn't want to not believe, when the truth would be everything to me.

I – did I speak? No, I couldn't forgive her, never!

I told her my name. My _whole_ name, to remind her. Fujiwara no Mokou. To remind _me_. That musty, millennium-old vow. And with it a cascade of memories, falling like cold rain, freezing my soul until I couldn't take it. My father. Myself. The elixir, and that perfect, smiling rejection. And everything, everything would burn, and I could lose myself in that all-consuming hatred.

_No, I didn't do that anymore!_

But gods, it would feel good. To have my hands around her throat, and to lose myself, I didn't need myself.

_I- I didn't mean to, I wasn't that person anymore! _

Ah, but I would give anything, _anything_ for this revenge. And I had given up, hadn't I? Just this once, this one night, let go, fall away again, when it was just me and her…

I lunged at her, she was so weak, so _easy_ to pin to the ground. I think she raised her arms to protect her face, yes, with one hand clasped desperately around that knife. But she couldn't hold it right, so it was my knife, the blade reflecting fire as I pressed the tip lightly to her chest. Her eyes widened, precious, wondrous fear.

Are you regretting your game now, Kaguya? _You will…_

I stabbed the knife in, aiming for her twisted heart. Dark red began to seep out from beneath my hand, and she screamed again, a delightful, musical sound. Although, I think I must have missed. She wasn't dying nearly fast enough. So I looked over my shoulder, checking to see if any youkai had been attracted by the noise.

No, I was safe for the moment.

I really didn't want my meeting, our meeting to be interrupted, though, so I drew the fire into my palm and covered her mouth. Oh, she wasn't smiling anymore. Huh. I laid my other flaming hand on her neck and slowly, gently pressed down. Careful, careful, careful. I didn't want this over _too_ fast. I had to etch it into my memory, my soul.

Every sensation, remember, never forget. The rush of adrenalin, the rough, scorched flesh, the slickness of red, red blood. Remember, I won't have another chance.

Ah, why must it end so quickly? A mere moment, to be lost in the river of time.

She had struggled on for a few seconds, clutching feebly at my wrists, and I set her sleeves aflame with a simple thought. An impromptu funeral pyre, to be sure, but a nice blaze nevertheless. And the flames reached high, reached for the moon…

Goodbye, Kaguya. After all those years, revenge tasted sweet. Poison honey sweet, I was drowning in it, I was sick with it.

But now she was gone, and I stumbled off her corpse and stood back to look at my handiwork. Her body was surprisingly intact, unfortunately. I could swear she was mocking me, still, even in death. Perhaps I should tear her to pieces? Yet there wasn't much point if she couldn't feel the pain.

Ah, well. The adrenalin high was receding, and I had killed her. That… was enough, wasn't it? Please? I turned my back on her and sank down by a thick bamboo shoot, exhaustion rapidly overtaking me. Still, killing hadn't felt so good in –had it _ever_ felt this way? I slumped against the shoot, watching the blood drip, drip off my hands. I couldn't remember at the moment, who cared, though? Tonight had been the best night of my long, too long life.

My vision was starting to waver from fatigue, and through heavy eyelids, I had the impression that the blood on my hands was glowing. I turned my head, my arm was coated in more warm, slippery red that was now silver. I blinked and wiped my hands on my red-soaked pants, no, they were silver now, glistening and glowing too.

It almost looked like I was bathed in moonlight instead of gore. How strange. How _beautiful_.

A bubbling laugh escaped my lips. Odd. I hadn't laughed in centuries, and never like this. I think I was hysterical, maybe. I kind of liked it actually, but the lightness was fading faster than the moonlight, and I just wanted to die, to sleep.

Never to wake from this dream, please, oh _please_…

As I was succumbing to oblivion, I could have sworn that the blood up and vanished. It was disconcerting, and I jerked myself upright. Yes, my hands and clothes were completely dry. Every hint of the violence had disappeared.

I was clean, innocent now.

But everything felt wrong again. And I was cold, freezing, and a silky touch of midnight black had spilled over my shoulder. Looking up, I gazed into deep, merciless brown eyes.

"Forgetting something~?"

~.*.~

I plunged the knife into her throat. It was only fair, really. Dying is unpleasant, and she started it. These Earth creatures should know better than to try to kill me when even the Lunarians failed at that.

In fact, I haven't died… Ever since I came here, I believe. I really must ask Eirin about that.

The strange girl coughed once and thrashed a little bit, but she died relatively fast. Whoever this Mokou was, she, well, _wasn't_ anymore.

I guess Eirin was right. Earth is dangerous, or maybe I'm just out of practice. And I had so wanted to make a new friend. She had seemed quite nice until she just snapped like that. Although… What had she said about an elixir...?

I wiped the splash of blood from hands on a dry patch of her clothes. No need to get mine dirty. This done, I stood up and waited in the stifling darkness. I also withdrew a small black branch from my satchel. If what I thought might happen did, I'd need a better weapon than a knife.

Hmm… It appeared I was right. Barely a minute had elapsed before the body in front of me broke into scarlet flames. I tried to brush a few specks of it off my dress, but my fingers went right through them. Magic, then.

She seemed to be resurrecting much faster than I had. Already, the flames had melded together into a new body.

There could be no question about it, she had taken my elixir. I wonder when. Had it not been thrown away? Eirin had said it had been dumped in a volcano, so how could this girl have gotten a hold of it? She must have stolen it…

I love mysteries like this.

Oh… but she was waking up. She attempted to stand, but I couldn't have that. I had to set the right precedent and all, didn't I?

"_Impossible Request_," I whispered to the branch in my hand. "_Bullet Branch of Hourai –Rainbow Danmaku_."

With those words, the artifact emitted a blinding burst of light. When it cleared, rainbow danmaku swarmed around me, just like the name suggested.

"Pretty~" I batted one of the beads of light with the treasure. I hadn't actually been certain this would work, but the theory was sound. Channeling the power of the treasure into earthling magic. And the effect was even better than I had imagined. Like fireworks, but swirling at my beck and call.

More deadly than fireworks, too. This was the kind of danmaku that was pretty _and _lethal.

My immortal attacker had finally struggled to her feet, and was posing with fire in her hands. Silly girl. Didn't she know nothing could protect her now?

I clasped my hands together and concentrated. The lights stopped flickering aimlessly and glided into place. In the next heartbeat, they sped off into the forest, ricocheting off the bamboo. The girl in front of me straightened, obviously thinking she was out of danger. One of the bullets hit her shoulder, and she winced as the energy crackled into her skin. Then the rest of the barrage returned, all homing in on her. I watched her expression turn to one of surprise, then panic.

She didn't even try to dodge.

The dancing lights kept me company while I waited for her to resurrect again. As soon as she opened her eyes, I sent another wave after her. Rise, rinse, repeat. After the fifth death, she didn't bother to get up anymore.

One more wave for good measure, and I put the branch away and knelt in front of her quivering body.

"Dying hurts, doesn't it? Even the elixir can't stop that." I turned her head towards me to make sure she was listening. "Don't try that again, okay? I can make you hurt more."

She spat out a mouthful of dirt and pushed herself into a half-crouch. "...not a dream?" She whimpered in obvious pain.

"Yes, that's right. I'm just as real as you are. And it's not very nice to go around murdering random people, is it?" I put on my most gentle smile. "Even if I _am_ immortal."

She made a noise as if she was choking, but a second later I realized she was laughing. "Random? _You?_ Don't you remember…? You _deserved_ that death."

I'm not the best at noticing people, but I would have remembered her. Or would I? Was she one of my rabbits? Anyway, despite her words, I couldn't recall a single memory of her, so I shrugged in polite incomprehension. "Oh? What did I do?"

"The impossible requests!" She sat up fully, a defiant snarl on her lips. "And my father – surely you remember him?"

"Who?" I frowned, casting my mind back far into the past. She'd shouted something about a Fujiwara, right? The name didn't ring any bells.

"You can't be serious," she said quietly, half to herself. "The man you sent to find the branch you were just using. _I_ remember. I can't _not_ remember."

Hmmm… That did seem familiar… Was he the one in the purple or the red robes?

No, wait. That was on the moon…

Oh! "The cheater?"

"My father _never_ cheated! I know! I _remember_, okay? He did the best he could on your _impossible_ request!" she growled, her voice taking on manic undertone. I seemed to have struck a nerve, for she raised her arm to strike me. "_You_ remember! You shamed him, in front of the whole court! _How could you?"_

"What, you're still hung up on something that happened that long ago?" I held back a giggle. She looked like one of the inaba, angry because I had tripped over it.

In return, the girl snarled something incoherent and punched me. I guess she really wasn't very nice, was she? I caught her arm as she attempted another blow. "Please don't do that. I told you not to."

She yanked herself back. "Why should I obey _you_?"

"Because I'm a princess." I stood up. I had lingered far too long here, and I still wasn't any closer to Eientei. "And because I could leave you twitching in pain for the next few weeks. That's a good reason, hm?"

She grabbed the edge of my dress as if to pull me back down. "I'd like to see you try!"

"No, you wouldn't." I stomped on her hand, crushing the fragile bones. She hissed in pain and called fire into her other hand, so I lashed out and kicked her in the face as well. "And don't come after me, understand?"

Blood oozed from the broken nose I had given her, and she whimpered in reply. I think that counted as a yes. Now, would she heal as fast as I do? It would be far more painful to stay and find out.

I picked a random direction and raced off through the forest until I couldn't see her glowing aura any more. There I waited for a few minutes, bending over and panting somewhat after the brief burst of exercise. When my heart rate returned to normal I straightened and checked to make sure she really wasn't following. Nothing but the sound of the wind greeted my ears. A pretty swishing noise, calm and untroubled, but tangy like the cool nighttime air.

I looked up to watch the swaying stalks, then remembered I was supposed to be looking for my murderer. Considering that I hadn't been attacked, though, it probably meant I was safe.

Now… How to find Eientei?

I was pretty certain I had been walking in about the right direction until that little interruption, so it should be in… this direction? Or this one?

Oh dear. Getting murdered had completely turned me around.

I tried to make out the stars, but the bamboo hid them from me. Well, I could fix that, at least. I focused again and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was hovering about a foot off the ground. It was a simple adjustment to raise myself until I could see over the forest.

Everything looked… the same from here. I conjured a small cluster of danmaku for light, but that didn't help. It was just shadowed green in every direction. I knew my home was under it, just not where.

Well, flying would get me away from that strange girl quicker than walking, so I took to the skies, dipping down every once in a while to check the ground. I wonder what I look like from here? Maybe like a fairy? Or a youkai rabbit? I know some of those can fly. They'd be fast asleep at this hour, though. Lucky creatures.

But that's a thought. One of the youkai around here might show me the way.

Or it might attack me like that girl…

"Princess?"

That encounter must have really rattled me, because I attacked without thinking, sending the danmaku at whatever was behind me. As I whirled around, I was already reaching for one of the treasures.

"Eirin?" My bullets halted midflight and I let the magic dissipate. "Thank goodness!"

She extended her hand to me as we drifted back down. "I take it you haven't found Tewi yet, have you?"

I shook my head. "No, but I found someone else."

"Oh?" My teacher touched the ground lightly, and we set off, in the right direction finally. "Tell me all about it when we get back to Eientei."

**~.*.~**

**A/N:** _Hm, still not totally satisfied with Mokou's part. Does it sound dramatic / crazy enough? Or just silly?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 3~**

For a short eternity, all I could feel was pain. Or perhaps the memory of pain; I could not focus enough to tell how far my body had healed. I tried to sit up and see if she had gone, but my vision was swarmed by afterimages of her danmaku.

It was too much.

…

…

Dawn had already broken over my unconscious body, for I came to and found sunlight filtering into the tiny space. It was pleasant, peaceful. The only traces of last night's battle were slight marks in the leafy carpet and in a day, even those would be gone, as the bamboo here grows supernaturally fast. No one would remember the destruction but me – and her, I should hope.

I rolled over, curling to rest my throbbing head against my knees.

_What had I done? _

I should be regretting it, shouldn't I? But I didn't, I wanted to do it again. And again, again, pay her back for every death I had just suffered. Killing her… it had been a good thing, I think. I felt like hell, my hand felt like worse, but somehow, that was fine because I felt better than I had in years. Centuries.

I… I had a goal. Yes, I wanted to kill her again. For… my father. Yeah.

I thought back to the short few words we'd exchanged, and I smiled at the empty air. I remembered, and it wasn't so bad to remember, not if there was something I could do about it. I could care again, maybe. It was nice to be so clear-headed. But to think about revenge, to care what I had just done… hm. That was awkward.

I had really made a fool of myself, hadn't I? Turning my back on her? Waiting nearby?

Ah, perhaps I'd rather that we both forgot that utter embarrassment of a fight. Granted, I had been too blinded by emotion to fight at my best. But she hadn't just defeated me; she had outright humiliated me and disrespected my father. I would put up a better fight, next time. I would teach her to respect the name Fuijiwara, no matter how many times it killed me.

If I there was a next time, of course. A bitter laugh escaped my lips, and I lurched unsteadily to my feet. What were the chances of another coincidence like that? I closed my eyes against the muted light. She could be anywhere by now.

But I did have an eternity to search, and to know she was here on Earth…

"Heh, I haven't seen _you_ around here before."

I snapped out of further contemplation to deal with the current danger. Some kind of youkai, most likely a rabbit judging by the ears. I hadn't heard her approach - had she been here all along? She walked up to me, completely brazen, and reached up to ruffle my hair.

"Got in a fight, little girl? You should be more careful in my forest."

"Little girl?" She looked like she was eight – quite a bit younger than I appeared, let alone my actual age. I knocked her hand away. "And 'my' forest?"

"What, are you deaf?" She skipped back a step and cocked her head to the side. "'S not your forest, it's mine. You're trespassing, human."

I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. Yes, I felt better, but I wasn't exactly ready for another fight. "I'm… sorry?"

"Good," she said, nodding. "I suppose you can stay. There're lots of things who live here besides me."

That was suspiciously generous for a youkai, even if she was merely boasting. A trap? I kept my back against the bamboo and scanned the bushes for other youkai. "Thank you, um…?"

"Tewi. I'm the head rabbit at Eientei, and don't you forget it!" With that, she swiftly turned tail and darted into the underbrush.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I really hadn't wanted to fend off a gang of rabbit youkai in this condition, weak as they may be. Now I could focus on finding Kagu-

Wait. Did that rabbit just say Eientei? And wasn't that- I almost called out, catching myself just in time. Surprise was the main advantage I could have against my enemy, and I didn't want to lose it by revealing myself to her minion.

I parted the bushes the rabbit had disappeared into, hoping for some sort of trail. Instead, I caught a glimpse of white moving several yards ahead. I scrambled off in pursuit.

The creature was fast, so fast I had to sprint to keep her in sight. The bamboo blurred by, and I had some narrow misses, but she seemed to know the area inside out, weaving through gaps only she could fit through. Heedless of any noise I made, I burned my way through a few, crashing through another.

A mistake.

She stopped instantly, and I ducked down, knowing she must have seen me. Or not – after a tense moment of silence, she continued on without a word.

But even with that pause, I was quickly running out of breath, yet the rabbit showed no sign of fatigue. If this kept on much longer, I'd have to risk flying. I began to slow down, letting her pull ahead briefly so I could take a break from having the undergrowth slash my bare ankles. Where were we, for that matter? I looked away for a second, trying to get my bearings, and when I looked back, she had vanished.

I stood still, hoping to hear her footsteps, but the forest was quiet. Not even a bird chirped. Not even the wind blew.

It was quite eerie.

I resumed walking, acutely aware of how loud my heavy breathing sounded in the silence. I began to check over my shoulder every few steps, but still, nothing. It was as if the forest was dead. No – that wasn't right. My surroundings were just as green as any other part of the forest. More so, perhaps. And yet the lack of movement made them, if not dead, then lifeless.

I shook my head irritably. This was no time to admire the scenery. I glared at the ground, daring the rabbit to leave one mark, one footprint I could find and track her with.

Instead, my eyes met a path. Stepping onto it, I saw it faded behind me, so overgrown as to be indistinguishable from the rest of the forest. In front of me, the trail was abruptly clear, stretching rigidly straight and ending in a small open clearing in front of some kind of structure.

I kept to the border of the path, edging forward until I could make out the building ahead. I expected it to be a ruin, perhaps the broken remains of a youkai's residence, or an especially large fairy hive.

What I saw was a perfectly preserved mansion, seemingly plucked right from a fairytale.

It must be the mysterious Eientei.

I backed up for the moment, leaving the path but making sure to keep the mansion in sight. I was hidden by the bamboo, yet I couldn't shake the sensation that it was watching me back out of those strange round windows. The question was, should I attack now? I wasn't in any shape to fight, no. And she had danmaku, where I had only my flames.

Still, I wanted this. I wanted to rush in, burn the house down, fight again even if I knew I couldn't last. Then again, she might be feeling just as bad, considering what I had done to her last night. And exploring couldn't hurt, could it? I could just go in, see what was there, and come back, couldn't I?

So I crept around to the back of the building, searching for a way to enter. A back door, perhaps. Or an open window. Tracing the perimeter turned up neither, so I was left with the option of breaking and entering.

Easy enough. I picked a first story window, shattered the glass, and pulled myself in.

I landed and was greeted by a frantic scattering of rabbits. The room was otherwise deserted, the walls made of flimsy paper screens. One of the rabbits tore through a bottom panel, but the hole disappeared a second later. Curious, I ran my hand over the paper. It felt as smooth as if it had never been damaged.

I spun around to check the window - it too had magically repaired itself. If I wanted to get out, I'd have to break it again. I'd worry about that later.

The room had one exit, so I pushed back the screen and stepped into an equally rabbit infested hallway. From where I stood, I could have sworn it was endless. The walls receded into the distance in either direction. At this rate, I'd need an eternity just to search this building. And Kaguya could leave at any time. Or she might not be here at all.

I broke into a jog, dodging the rabbits that carpeted the floor. There were a number of youkai rabbits mixed in, but they merely winked lazily at me and wandered off when I disturbed them. Were they tame? And what did that say about my adversary?

Gradually, though, the hall was changing. The rabbits were more awake the further I ran, glaring at me out of beady black eyes. There were more of them, too, and they refused to get out of my way. I kicked fire at them, and they sullenly sidled off. Even the ones that bared their teeth at me dodged out of the way, regrouping just out of my reach. When I stopped, they stopped too.

So I kept going.

Hadn't the hall been longer? The rabbits stopped retreating by a set of two doors. One was sealed with decaying paper charms and the other was slightly ajar, its charms partially ripped off and unsuccessfully reapplied. It was the only sign of human inhabitation that I had seen so far. Kaguya must be behind it, if she was in this place at all. I was starting to have doubts about that, but there was one sure way to find out.

And I wanted to find out. My hands screamed to attack, to rip, to tear. I had to see, had to find her.

Ah, so much for not fighting.

I threw the door open and sent a wave of fire into the corridor. The… empty corridor. I blinked, my eyes unable to pierce the shadows. From what I could make out, there weren't even any rabbits inside. Another burst of fire revealed faint footsteps in the dust. I shut the rabbits outside and began to follow the tiny scuffs by the light of a two-finger flame.

Was that a shape up ahead? I narrowed my eyes and extinguished the flame as I grew closer. No, it had been my imagination.

A bolt of light appeared out of nowhere, suddenly searing into my hand with a dazzling flash of pink.

"Kaguya!" I screamed, and whirled on the source of the bullet. Sure enough, my enemy stood behind me, almost close enough to touch. Oh, she would pay. _Yes…_

I leaped forward, unfurling my wings for battle and -

"Now!"

Something hit the back of my head… and the world collapsed into darkness.

**~.*.~**

"I think you got her, Eirin."

My mentor appeared out of the shadows with a wry smile. "I'm sure we could have found a more elegant way to take her out. But yes," She put her bow away and stooped over the body. "She's unconscious, not dead."

I smiled, relieved. "It was a good thing Inaba warned us, wasn't it?"

"Tewi," she reminded me absently. "I doubt she poses much of a threat, though. Are you sure she took the elixir?"

"Almost certain."

"I'll examine her more thoroughly in the lab." I handed her a section of chain and watched as she bound my attacker's limbs.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. She didn't know what she was getting into, coming here. Once people enter the house of eternity, they do not leave…

Um, except for the rabbits. But they don't count anyway.

As for the girl… I followed Eirin as she carried the body to her lab. She set it down on a table and bound it further, then gave me a pointed look. I refused to meet her gaze and played with the tools she had set out. Pretty things, but wickedly sharp. I hoped she wasn't going to do anything too horrible to this Mokou.

"Kaguya, it would be better if you left."

I put down a scalpel. "Why?"

"She'll get excited if she sees you, and I don't want her burning anything in here."

Well, that was reasonable… And it would be several hours before she regained consciousness. I'd leave Eirin to her examination and return later. In the meantime, I was hungry. There must be some mochi left from the last Moon Festival, and my spell meant it would be just as fresh as when it was made a few weeks ago.

I closed the lab door behind me, wandering into the long hallway my attacker had been exploring. The rabbits immediately converged on me, their soft noses nudging at my legs. I sat down and petted the nearest, brushing off some flakes of ash.

Poor little thing, it must have been scared when it was attacked. When I tried to pick it up, though, the rest of the rabbits tried to hop into my lap. Even the youkai rabbits drew closer, whispering among themselves.

"Inaba, could you get the leftover mochi?" I asked the nearest. It nodded, ears bobbing, and bounded through one of the many doors.

"So, did you catch her?" Another youkai rabbit brushed away her sisters and sprawled beside me. "That crazy'd better not be on the loose."

"Eirin has her chained up in the lab," I replied, and the inaba hummed something to herself, fingering a carrot shaped necklace.

"When you say she's immortal like you– "

She was interrupted by the arrival of the first inaba, who bowed and offered a large bowl to me. I thanked her, and she scurried off into the furry crowd.

"What?" I turned back to my other companion.

"-strange coincidence that you'd meet."

I shrugged. "It was bound to happen eventually. It's a pity she wasn't friendlier, though."

The rabbit snickered. "You want another pet? Tired of us already, are you?"

"That isn't what I meant at all!" I rose and dumped the inaba off my lap, then snatched the bowl and padded off to my room. Inside, I kicked off my slippers and resumed my usual place at the window. And, just as usual, I immediately forgot the food and stared blankly at the glass.

Yes… perhaps I was bored, of the rabbits, of Eientei, of living as a fugitive. But that was nothing new. And finding a girl willing to murder me at the drop of a hat just gave me more incentive to stay inside…

My mind wandered back to the first few years I had spent running from the emissaries, and I shivered slightly. No, one crazy girl couldn't match the menace of a whole envoy of trained soldiers. All the same, though, she had been rather frightening for a mere Earth human… Although, I had never had much contact with those I had considered my inferiors. Were they all like her?

I yawned, surprised by an uncharacteristic drowsiness. Well, today had been exciting, I suppose, but Eirin would take care of everything, and life would return to normal tomorrow…

No more walks through the forest, no more strange attacks and mysterious assassins…

The sky had turned blush red by the time I shook myself out of the trance. Eirin might let me into the lab by now. I glanced to the side and popped a rice cake into my mouth, then picked up the rest. If she was awake, Mokou might be hungry too.

A trail of inaba formed in my wake as I made my way down to Eirin's lab again. They eyed me inquisitively as I paused by the door. I couldn't hear any screaming, so evidently Eirin had the situation under control.

My teacher looked up briefly as I entered, then back down, frowning.

"Princess, she could awaken any minute now. This isn't the time-"

The girl on the table stirred. Eirin glared at me and snatched a needle from the nearby case, then held it by my murderer's neck.

I leaned over her just as the girl opened her eyes. "You!" she snarled, while Eirin shouted, "Don't move!"

I jerked back as the girl struggled to free herself from the chains, her red eyes blazing.

"Don't move," Eirin repeated, and I froze, hearing the steely command in her voice. Mokou ignored her, though, continuing to thrash against her bonds. She managed to free one arm, but not before Eirin pressed the needle into her skin, sending the drug into her body. The girl's frantic movements quieted, and she drifted back into unconsciousness.

I took a seat on one of the other tables, prepared to wait.

Eirin finished fixing the chain on her hand, then turned to me. "Kaguya, I thought I told you to stay away."

"I'm sorry," I said meekly. "I'll be good now."

My mentor sighed, but tempered her disapproval with a tiny smile. "It's your life on the line if she gets free," she warned, "But if you don't get in the way, it should be alright."

I took another cake from the bowl and offered one to Eirin. "How long is she going to be out this time?" I mumbled around the chewy dough.

Eirin finished hers before speaking. "Probably a few minutes. I didn't give her the full dose."

"Mmhmm…" I pulled my knees onto the table and rested my head in my hands. "…Eirin?"

"Yes?" She checked Mokou's pulse and prepared a needle exactly like the first one.

"What are we going to do with her?"

"It depends on how reasonable she is."

"What if-"

"We'll figure that out if it happens."

We waited in the sterile silence, Eirin occasionally monitoring one of the beakers suspended over a small fire. I kept changing positions, unable to get comfortable on the cold metal.

Finally, Mokou's eyelids flickered again.

"Don't move," Eirin said a third time, carefully gripping the needle.

Mokou's eyes opened fully so she could glare at Eirin, then at me. She held still, making no attempt to escape or attack.

"So you _can_ listen," my teacher said grimly.

"Of course," the girl replied, her eyes remaining fixed on me. "Say your piece and let me go."

"That's the problem." Eirin put her free hand on her hip, watching Mokou as she would one of her throwaway experiments. "Normally we'd just kill an intruder, but in your case, we'll have come up with another solution."

"Should have thought of that when you left the elixir here, Kaguya," she said, curling her hands into fists. "But you weren't thinking of consequences then, were you?"

"Not really, no," I returned cheerfully, "But I know I wouldn't have given the elixir to someone like _you_, had I known."

She hissed something unintelligible and yanked on the chains.

"Enough." Eirin stepped between us and blocked me from her view. "If you can't be trusted to leave the princess alone, we _will_ keep you prisoner."

I heard her laugh, but there was no amusement in her voice. "I can melt right through these chains."

"Oh?" Eirin was unfazed. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you. Do you have any other talents I should know about?"

Mokou refused to reply, so we were at an impasse. After a couple more strained seconds, I walked around to the other side of the table. "Are you hungry?"

She eyed me suspiciously, then looked at Eirin, who nodded sharply.

"If these won't hold you, there's no sense in keeping them on." The girl flinched as Eirin started to loosen the chains on her left arm. "Of course, if you make one move to hurt Kaguya-"

"You'll regret it~!" I finished for her. "Here, have some mochi."

"No thanks." She blocked my hand, careful not to alarm Eirin, who toyed with a needle mere inches away from Mokou's skin. "I'd rather not be poisoned along with whatever else you plan to do to me."

"Oh."I said softly. "I wouldn't – "

I could see flames starting to dance around her fingers, so I hastily backed away. Eirin could deal with this. If my teacher saw the fire, though, she didn't say anything, seemingly lost in thought.

"Can you keep a secret?" she finally asked, her mouth tight sneer of distaste. "If you promise not to speak of Eientei's existence, we needn't keep you here."

The girl spread her arms wide. "Trust me; I have no one to tell."

"Frankly, I don't trust you, but it would be" Eirin drummed her fingers on the table. "…_impractical _to keep you chained up here for the rest of eternity."

"We're just letting her go?" I broke in, astonished. "But-"

My mentor shrugged uncomfortably. "It's the best solution now, yes." She unfastened the rest of the chains and allowed Mokou to sit up. "As long as Eientei remains outside history, we're safe. And you," she gestured at the girl, "know that attacking Kaguya here is futile. Try it again and we will _reconsider_ this arrangement."

Mokou rubbed her ankles, seemingly subdued. "I understand."

Eirin abruptly jerked open the door and pulled in the rabbit who had obviously been leaning on it. "Tewi, show her out."

"Hey, how did…" The inaba wilted under Eirin's gaze and sighed. "Never mind. This way, you." She poked at the girl sitting on the table.

Mokou slid off and walked out the door without another word.

When she had gone, Eirin and exchanged a look.

"I wonder… was that really the right thing to do?" I mused aloud, then took another bite of rice cake.

**~.*.~**

**A/N:**_Not many changes here, or in the rest of the revised chapters actually. I guess that's good…? _


	4. Chapter 4

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 4~**

I dropped down from my hiding place over the road, landing lightly in front of a slowly moving cart with a covered top. The oxen pulling it immediately halted, their eyes rolling back as they caught the unnatural scent of fire and immortality.

"Who's there?" a voice called in the darkness.

"That depends," I replied. "What do you have in that cart?"

"Nothing," was the surly reply. It looked like things were going to be difficult for me. "Get out of the way, whatever you are."

"I'm human. And you're the one who supplies the village, are you not?" It had taken me a month just to figure that much out, but I could be patient. Matching Kaguya was worth anything. "I need spellcards," I continued bluntly. "And I can't pay."

I heard the soft _whoosh_ of a lantern being ignited with magic, then a gruff laugh as the man caught sight of me. "Nice try, girl. You shouldn't play at highway robbing until you're a little older." He cracked a whip over the oxen's heads, and the cart started to lumber forward once more.

"Wait!" My new plan against her would depend largely on my success tonight, so this _had_ to work. I jumped out of the way of the cart, then flew over it again to hover a few feet in front of it. "Stop!"

The man ignored me, looking off left, right, and everywhere but in my direction.

"I said, _stop_!" I hurled a fireball at the road, scorching the dirt with a snarling wall of flames. The oxen snorted in surprise, though they had obviously been trained not to panic. The man, however, swore violently.

"-youkai, never learn their lesson, do they?" He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket, brandishing it as one would a sword. "Make one move, you little pest, and I'll _exterminate_ you."

I touched back down and held my arms up in a placating gesture. "Look, I'm not a youkai. I don't want to eat you, I just-"

I choked and staggered backwards, a crossbow bolt through my chest. "…Oh."

_Damn._

…

…

"Thought I recognized her. Thing came into the village 'bout a month ago, but I chased her off 'fore she could hurt my littl'un."

"Lucky I brought you two with me, wasn't it?" The man spat, and I felt a wet glob hit my cheek. "A clean kill. You're a good man to have on a dark night, Saburo."

I opened my eyes, the usual pain and disorientation of resurrection confusing my senses. "Nngh." Pushing myself up, I was dimly aware that I had been lying flat on my back in the middle of the road.

Somewhere to my right, I heard the sharp intake of a breath. "What the _hell_?" I turned my head to see the cart driver back up in alarm, a thick-set man standing stiffly at his side. "That thing _survived_?"

"Let's see it eat two of these," his friend said coolly, and I rolled backward to dodge the bolt.

I should have expected this, I thought grimly, staggering to my feet as the man dropped his first weapon to unsheathe an efficient-looking sword. Well, if this was what it took to stand a chance against Kaguya, then so be it. I'm no stranger to this type of fight.

He rushed at me, aiming the sword at my neck. I easily ducked out of the way, but not before I heard the cart driver mutter something and the scene was lit by the flash of a spellcard declaration.

This might actually get tricky.

Danmaku swirled around us, blue pellets interweaving with purple bubbles in random patterns that spiraled out from a dense center but left wide gaps open. Obviously the man was no master, though his friend had twisted around to have another go at me. Caught between the two, I sidestepped into a stray bullet, wincing at the needle-like sting.

"I don't want to kill you," I said evenly, not that he would listen.

"Save it for the Yama," the swordsman snarled, slicing into my shoulder, "If you even _have_ a soul!"

I flinched at the blow, almost blundering into a small cluster of bullets again. But I _had_ to have these spellcards, I reminded myself through the pain. No matter what. I would not let her servant intimidate me into defeat. I would not allow her to get away with another humiliation.

I would return, and this time I would be prepared for both of them. My revenge would be-

The man's next lunge chopped off a few hairs, passing only an inch away from my eyes. As I swayed away from the next strike, I noticed he had left his other side completely open. I smirked, sending a phoenix-shaped fireball to home in on the spot, but he shied away from the flames just in time. As I prepared another fireball, I realized he would have no way to protect himself if it hit.

I _had_ to be able to match Kaguya. I wanted to kill her, wanted her death so much that it hurt. But… to kill others? Innocents?

I didn't have to.

I didn't have to do this, not again.

I didn't have to be that kind of person, not here.

I hurled the fireball at the ground instead, darting away while the man was distracted. I could always return next month, and perhaps the spell merchant would be more reasonable then. Weaving around the densest part of the spellcard pattern, I dodged through a gap in the dancing orbs to get behind the sword wielder and into the shadow of the trees. Whirling around, I prepared to take flight.

But instead of taking off, I slammed into a group of little girls with delicate wings and far too many teeth.

"Dinner," one murmured, and they flooded into the danmaku-lit road.

I groaned, cursing whatever sense that drew such creatures to battles. Fairies have an uncanny ability to gather where there are strong magical beings, and I guess I was no exception. I glanced back at the two men who were frantically swatting at the child-like scavengers pouring in. As many as they managed to kill, more arrived, so I sent out a stream of fire at the row of fairies pestering the swordsman, then moved closer to defend against the onslaught. Perhaps I could use this to my advantage.

"Here, I'm on your side-"

The man turned on me immediately. "Filthy youkai scum!" he roared into my ear, "Get your claws away from that cart!"

He brought his sword down, lopping off my left arm with a wet _snick_. I retaliated instinctively with a burst of flame that set his shirt on fire, but he ignored it and reached forward with an almost mad desperation. As he caught hold of the collar of my shirt, I brought my remaining arm up and grabbed his wrist with a fistful of flames in my palm.

He screamed hoarsely and let go, backing up into the very center of the danmaku pattern as his skin blistered and his clothes burned. As he realized the danger a second too late, our gazes locked.

"You… _monster_…" he gasped, and I dove to the ground as a cascade of bullets seared into and past his blackened form.

The flickering danmaku suddenly burst in a shower of sparks as the spell merchant saw what happened to his partner. He let out a strangled shriek, but didn't even pause to check that the man was dead before running off into the darkness with neither light nor weapon.

I paused, watching the scavengers flock to the still body a few feet away. One of the fairies giggled and gave me a thumbs up. "Yummy!"

I gave it an half-hearted glare, but it was too stupid to notice. And I might as well get what I came for. Sure, it was a pity that they had been so protective of it. I'd make Kaguya pay for these men's lives, yeah.

I knocked off some curious fairies and pulled back the tarp covering the back of the cart. Inside were various boxes and chests, most sealed by faintly glowing chains. I prodded one with my good arm and it immediately shot out a burst of lightning which singed my fingertips.

Wonderful.

Carefully avoiding these sealed ones, I floated over to the front where some of the normal boxes were stacked. The locks on these were of simple iron, so I melted through one and lifted the lid. A damp, earthy smell hit me, and I gagged a little and closed the box again. I had no use for mushrooms.

Impatient, I stepped back and sent a wave of fire at the cart, cutting the oxen loose and toppling a row of boxes. Books, mushrooms, other things I had no idea how to name all trickled out of their broken cases. I sifted through the wreckage and – yes, finally. I grabbed a few handfuls of the magically charged paper and stuffed them into my pockets. I'd need a lot - it would take a while for me to figure out how to use them properly, let alone create ones capable of matching Kaguya's magic.

Speaking of which, perhaps one of these books could help. I shoved a box of amulets out of my way, revealing a large hole in the center of the pile. Curious, I reached inside and drew out a roughly sewn bag. It held a doll and few books, but not the magic kind – one was a history text, and the others seemed to be meant for a little kid.

Didn't one of the men say something about a child?

I frowned and reached further inside. If he had been bringing supplies to his family – no, that still wouldn't explain why he had been so desperate to keep me away. My hand brushed something warm, which yelped and flinched away from the touch.

He couldn't have been that stupid, could he… ? It was suicide to travel through this area with…

I took firm hold of the creature and yanked it out into the open air.

"Put me down, youkai scum!" she said, and tried to headbutt me. Startled, I let go, and the dark-haired girl jumped off the cart to run to her father.

"Daddy! Da!" The fairies buzzed away from the corpse, though a wingless blond girl remained stooped over the body. "Da…?" She finally noticed the blood dripping from the other creature's mouth and screamed to bring the forest down. The youkai eating her father's remains looked up sharply, and its eyes brightened as it sighted another easy meal.

"Not this one, you don't." I snapped, scooping up the girl just as the youkai pounced. Instead of meeting the child's neck, her fingers closed on my foot. "Go on, shoo."

"Is that so~?" she hissed, disappointed. "Share?"

"Leave!" I growled, and kicked her in the stomach.

"Meanie!" the thing spat, and vanished in a bubble of darkness.

The girl I held had latched awkwardly onto my neck and suspenders. "You're going to eat me, aren't you?" she whimpered.

I gritted my teeth in frustration. It would be so, so easy to dump her here. And she probably hated me, considering what I had done to her father. Nothing I could ever do would change that, ha. Not if she was anything like me.

Yet those pleading eyes, that mop of dark, tangled hair… she could have been _me_, a thousand years ago.

And it wasn't like I had a grudge against her…

"Shut up. I'm not going to eat you." I said harshly, and the child burst into tears. Nevertheless, I adjusted my one arm to hold her more firmly against my shoulder.

It would be a long walk back to the village.

**~.*.~**

"And?" Eirin gave the rabbit a hard stare.

"And what? She took the kid back to that place where all the humans are, and that was it."

Erin resumed pacing, but I stayed seated on the table. We had been sending the inaba to watch my attacker ever since we'd let her go, and this was the most interesting thing that had happened so far. I was rather enjoying these meetings, if only because they were a pleasant distraction from ceaseless boredom. Still, judging by Eirin's reaction, this news was worrying. Should I be pacing too?

"Was there a fuss? Did she speak with anyone? Did she mention anything about Eientei?" Eirin's braid flicked back and forth as she walked, falling over her shoulder as she halted in front of the rabbit sitting next to me.

"Nah." The rabbit leaned back, waving her hand dangerously close to a row of test tubes. "She barely had time to put the kid down before they chased her off. The other humans don't seem to like her much. "

"Maybe she's an outlaw. Steal from the rich and give to the poor and all that," I mused aloud, earning an exasperated look from Eirin and a snicker from the inaba.

"Whatever her situation is, she is unable to spread word of our existence." My mentor smiled tightly. "We appear to be safe from that threat at least."

The rabbit perked up her floppy ears. "So I don't have to follow her around any more?"

"Tewi-"

"I think we should keep an even closer watch on her," I broke in. "Please?" Considering that she had stolen some form of human magic, I wanted to know what she was going to do with it. Maybe she was planning to distribute it to youkai? But that would be silly…

Eirin seemed to share the first part of my thought. "Yes. We shouldn't let our guard down quite yet. She could be planning to attack us."

"Why do I have to watch her, then? I've risked my skin enough," the inaba complained. "Watch her yourself if you're going to be paranoid."

"Tewi, you know very well that neither I nor the princess can leave Eientei without considerable risk ourselves," Eirin frowned down at her, and the rabbit visibly wilted.

"I just don't see why I have to-"

"Enough." Eirin picked up a sheaf of notes, intent on returning to her newest project. "Eientei's safety depends on all of us. Report back again tomorrow. In person, mind you. Don't send one of your underlings like last time."

Muttering to herself, the inaba bounced off the table, knocking over a precariously balanced beaker on her way out of the lab. In the instant before it broke, I put my hand out and returned it to the table as Eirin blinked.

"Thank you, Princess," she said, startled. "I must apologize for Tewi's ill manners."

I shrugged. "Is it really that important? If she attacks us, I mean."

"We're prepared, but it never hurts to be too careful," Eirin replied.

"How boring." I slumped against the metal, wondering if I would even meet the girl should it come to a fight. Eirin could probably toss her out the door again before I noticed.

She ignored me for a second, leafing through the pages of dense handwriting. "I thought you preferred boredom to danger."

"I suppose," I said uncertainly, getting up to go back to my room or somewhere equally unimportant.

As I walked out the door, Eirin looked up from her notes briefly. "You really have changed."

**~.*.~**

_**A/N: **__Technically, Rumia shouldn't even be alive yet, but I'd rather not make up more OCs than I have to. If it bothers you too much, then the youkai Mokou met must have been someone else.__** :)**_

_Also, writing bored Kaguya is boring, so this chapter was 1) hard to write and 2) short. Ugh. Hurry up, Mokou~_


	5. Chapter 5

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 5~**

"_Immortal,_" I held out the card and crossed my fingers, "_Fire Bird – Flying Phoenix!_"

A white flash blinded me for a second, and when it cleared, the card shriveled to dust in my hand. Not a single bullet sparked to life. "Damn it," I muttered, and let the dust pour out of my fingers onto the remains of the previous attempts. I hadn't gotten a single card to work, and I had spent a good part of the morning trying. As for last night…

I touched my left arm gingerly, flexing the newly healed fingers. The villagers hadn't been joking when they said to stay away. The kid was fine, though, even if I hadn't quite escaped with my life.

She'd even thanked me…

I shook my head, picking up another card from the pile I had set up on a small stone. I needed to focus completely on the spell. This was proving to be rather difficult, but I'd forgone sleep plenty of times, hadn't I? Yet no matter what I tried, the pile of cards dwindled rapidly as I attempted failure after failure. I seemed to have some sort of mental block – the few cards that didn't die immediately fizzled out after producing a couple bullets.

Maybe I didn't have enough power for the spellcards I imagined?

Alright, I'd try something a little simpler. Tensing, I held the fresh card a little differently, fixing the image of the danmaku I wanted to create in my mind. Just fire. _Lots_ of fire.

"_Everlasting_," I drew on my ability to conjure flames, imagining a rain of fire that would burn Kaguya to a crisp within seconds. "_Phoenix Tail!_"

The white flash didn't go off, but I did get fire. The card burned itself down to nothing in my palm.

Yet another failure.

I dumped the ashes on the ground, biting my lip. If I couldn't even pull that off, then what? I could still attack Kaguya without danmaku, but between her magic and her servants, I didn't stand a chance. At least one of her advantages had to be evened out. For my victory. For those men and that little girl. For my father.

I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. Without this revenge, there was no point to my life, really. Back to the boredom, back to the endless, tedious eternity.

So I would make this card work, if it was the last thing I ever did…

"_Hourai_," I gripped the card hard enough that my hand shook. "_Fujiyama Volcano!_" I screamed to the heavens.

A slight wind from the south shook the bamboo around me, and I looked up into the clear sky. Nothing.

Yet _again_.

I looked back down at the card, expecting it to have joined its fellows in powdery failure. But instead of shriveling up, the black slip glowed the cherry red of molten iron, then pulsed brilliant white. A loud crash roared from the bamboo behind me, and I nearly dropped the card in surprise. As I turned around, the ground shivered as bursts of energy exploded through the green shoots, sending up gouts of red-and white danmaku.

Another crash sounded to my left, and this time I was quick enough to see the silvery circle before it split into cascades of bullets. Despite the ferocity of the barrage, when the bullets hit me, they merely passed through my body as though they were harmless specks of light. At the same time, I felt an incredible rush of power as the spellcard drew on a strength I didn't even know I had within me.

Laughing at the sensation, I shot a line of arrowheads into the dense undergrowth with a wave of my hand. Between my fingers, the spellcard continued to shine with a throbbing crimson that matched my heartbeat. I tossed off another shower of arrowheads, the motion feeling as easy and as natural as if I had been doing it all my life.

This… _this_ was danmaku! Kaguya wouldn't stand a chance now!

Really, the only problem I could see was that most of the exploding circles fell behind me, where I couldn't see to aim. I watched them fall anyway, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. With that much power, what did it matter if I couldn't control it perfectly? A cycle of three bursts snarled to my right, each falling in almost the same spot. At the last one, the bushes rustled, and a rabbit youkai jumped into the clearing.

"Hey! Watch it!" She dove in front of me, yelping as another circle exploded even closer to her and caught her tail in the danmaku. "Geez, I was just watching you!"

She was really standing too close; all it would take was a slight wave, and I could obliterate her with the arrowheads before I she could dodge. Was she one of Kaguya's minions? Act now, and I could make sure she never got in my way…

"Hey, stop it, okay? I didn't even have a choice about this whole watching thing, alright, I-" My bullets shot off harmlessly into the bamboo as she ducked to the side faster than my eyes could follow.

"Hey, fire wings, I surrender! Just shut it off already!" She reappeared, cowering a few feet to my left. I looked from her and back to the card, which was starting to flicker erratically. It wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway, so I dropped it, making the bullets dissipate in a scattering of green stars.

"Fire wings?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, you didn't notice? You lit up like some kinda phoenix." The rabbit shifted nervously from foot to foot. "Well, it's been nice seeing you, but-"

"Not so fast, bunny." I tried to leap forward and grab her, but a strange weakness overtook my limbs and we both crashed into the ground. Before she could get up and dart away, I managed to catch hold of one of her furry ears.

"Awww, you got me. I'll make you lucky if you let me go."

"Really." I was pretty sure this was the same rabbit I had met earlier, and I was not about to trust one of Kaguya's underlings. "Tewi, wasn't it? What were you saying about watching me?"

"Oh, nothing." She struggled, trying to pry my fingers off her ear. "I've got somewhere very important to be, so if you'd just let me – Woah, put that out!"

I smiled and held the happy little flame closer to her throat. "So, how long have you been spying on me, then?"

"It wasn't my fault; Kaguya made me do it!" she whimpered, tears pricking in the corner of her eyes. "She'd kill me if I didn't follow you!"

Hm. Another black mark against Kaguya, but that was no surprise. I twitched my fingers, reducing the flame to the tiniest of sparks. "Looks like we both have reasons to hate her, then."

She nodded eagerly. "Yeah! I hate her! I wish she'd never come to this forest in the first place!"

"But you still won't betray her?"

"Well…" A sharp gleam entered her dark eyes. "The problem is, she's holding all my sisters hostage in that big mansion, so I can't attack her openly with you…" She lowered her voice conspiratorially, making me bend closer to listen. "However, every full moon, she refuses to leave Eientei and we rabbits have a chance to go outside. That's the time for you to strike!"

Interesting. So Kaguya had a weakness to the full moon? That could definitely come in useful…

"Now will you please let me go?" Tewi renewed her efforts to escape. "I've told you everything!"

"Alright." I released my grip on her ear, allowing the rabbit to finally run off into the forest. "And thank you!" I called after her.

My counterattack against Kaguya was shaping up quite nicely, I reflected as I pushed myself up. A few more spells like that one, and I would be set.

I meant to spring to my feet, but as I took a step, my legs suddenly collapsed underneath me. My entire body felt drained, the rush of power I had felt earlier completely exhausted. As I knelt in the dirt, I could feel something besides last night's sleeplessness taking its toll.

Perhaps I should finish my spells tomorrow. What did one day matter?

Despite my fatigue, I smiled, and the sunny sky mirrored my sense of triumph. Whatever the secret was, I now had spellcards.

~.*.~

I ran my fingers over the dark, spindly branches of the strange plant in front of me. Its bark was smooth and cold – to the eyes of an Earth creature, it would have seemed dead. But to grow and bloom is to change, and the Hourai Undonge is too pure for life. Only in the presence of impurities will it respond in the slightest.

All the same, with the unsettling events of this past month, I had almost expected it to have sensed the difference.

I stepped back and tilted my head to the side, checking again to make sure I hadn't missed any new growths. Just the tiniest spike of black would mean everything, though I would not welcome it. I may live on Earth, but I cannot cherish impurity in my home. And, of course, the undonge was as perfect as it had been when Eirin and I had first placed it. As if anything could surprise me here…

Sighing, I slid the screen back and picked up an inaba that had followed me here. They always do, for some reason. Really, I have no idea why these earth rabbits seem so fascinated with me. It was nice to have them around and all, but they do have a habit of getting under my feet.

I stroked this rabbit's fluffy head, carrying it gently as I wandered through the empty halls. "Are you looking forward to the full moon? Hm?"

It nuzzled my cheek and I laughed softly. "That tickles! And you didn't answer my question!"

The rabbit perked up its ears and smiled. I'm not sure how a rabbit can smile, but it did. "Good for you, then." I turned the corner and slid open the door, brushing aside the charms stuck on it. There wasn't anything special about this room nor was there anything magical about the charms. Just a little bit of glue and paint. Come to think of this, why did we put them up, anyway?

Oh, yes. Before that girl had attacked. We had spread the dust around here too. It looked very realistic, if I remembered correctly. Didn't Eirin tell one of the inaba to clean it up? I spun a glowing orb of danmaku between my fingers, illuminating the barren hallway. Evidently, no one had gotten around to it. I kicked the floor, and a cloud rose up, making the rabbit I held sneeze.

"Oh, sorry about that." I suppose I could do the cleaning, but while I was bored, I wasn't that desperate. Besides, I was the lady of this house. Eirin did the chores, or at least delegated them to convenient inaba. I set the rabbit down and pointed back out the door. "Go and get your friends. I have a job for you."

The little fluffball sniffed at the dust and sneezed again, making no move toward the door. Perhaps it couldn't hear me, even though I was standing right next to it. I scuffed my foot and raised my voice. "Hey! Go find some other rabbits, unless you want to clean this place all by yourself!"

It blinked curiously at me and hopped back onto the edge of my skirt. Honestly, these rabbits are lazier than I am.

"We're not going anywhere until you do as I say," I said, folding my arms. "And if you keep ignoring me, I'll tell Eirin on you."

This finally had some effect, and the rabbit's ears flicked up, as if it had heard a call from far away. "You don't want Eirin mad at you, hm?"

The inaba stood up on its hind legs, whiskers twitching, then suddenly shot off through the door as if a fox were at its heels. I watched it go, frowning slightly. I hadn't said anything that mean, had I? Oh, well. I shook off my skirt, causing the trailing edge to summon another dust cloud, then snapped and put out the danmaku-light. I'd come back later to check how the cleaning was going, but for now, I wanted to see what Eirin was doing. If I was lucky, maybe she would explain it to me.

I ducked through the door again and unstuck one of the charms from my hair. Right, another right, left here and straight… My footsteps echoed lightly in this corridor, though I wished they didn't. The sound made the house seem so lonely, especially since the rabbits were all gathered by Eientei's one door.

Hm. I must have taken a wrong turn. What were the inaba doing here, anyway?

I heard a set of muffled footsteps behind me, and Eirin appeared by my left shoulder, still holding a sheaf of notes in one hand and her bow in another. "What's the commotion? Is something wrong, Princess?"

"I don't know…" A ripple suddenly moved through the rabbits, and the whole crowd moved back, allowing the huge door to inch slowly open.

Eirin and I glanced at each other, and my mentor quietly dropped her notes and notched an arrow to her bow. She nudged me, and I called up a swirling sphere of power into my palm. The door creaked open another fraction, and we tensed for an attack.

Three... two... one…

Another inaba staggered in, clutching her limp arm to her chest. "Please… help me…"

I immediately cut my spell and rushed to catch the inaba as she slumped to the ground. Around us, the rabbits pressed in closer, muttering amongst themselves. One of the youkai ones ran to Eirin's side and tugged her hand, urging her to put down her weapon. Another rallied its fellows to slam the door shut and redo the bolts. In my arms, the wounded inaba smiled faintly and reached up to touch my cheek.

"Lady Kaguya…"

"Shh, don't move." The rabbit's head lolled against my shoulder, her necklace tinkling softly. "Eirin?" I called.

My mentor knelt by my side, examining the rabbit with a worried frown. "Tewi? Were you seen?"

"Yeah…" The inaba's eyelids flickered and she groaned in pain. "She caught me… wasn't anything I coulda done…"

Eirin reached over and brushed away my hair so she could examine the rabbit better. She carefully adjusted its wounded arm, looking for the injury. "Where are you hurt?"

"I dunno… feels like everywhere…"

"Right." Eirin raised an eyebrow, obviously suspicious. "Well, if you're really hurt that badly, you won't mind if I ease your pain with my new drug." She nodded to one of the youkai waiting in an anxious circle. "Go fetch the case with the needles and the beaker with the skull and crossbones, will you?" The rabbit scampered off, eyes wide.

The inaba in my arms quickly pushed herself off and backed away. "Ah, actually, I think I'll be just fine with a little rest."

"I thought as much." Eirin stood up and glared at the little miscreant. "What was that display for, then?"

"'S just a bit if fun…" Tewi crossed her arms and matched Eirin stare for stare. "Come on, liven up! Can't you two even laugh?"

Eirin pursed her lips, but didn't reply. Turning her back on the rabbit, she picked up her notes and headed back into one of the branching hallways.

"Hey! I thought you wanted a report! And I really did get attacked!" the inaba called after Eirin. "Huh."

"Well, I thought you were really cute!" I said, and she jumped a bit as I clapped my hands. Had she forgotten about me? "Bravo! Encore!"

The inaba bowed low with a wry smile. "Thank you for the support, your moonliness."

"Moonli-" I started, but Tewi interrupted me with a wave of her hand.

"I _do_ have important news, ya know." She pointed to an inaba which had hurried up and was struggling to balance a full beaker and a case of needles at the same time. "Go put those things away and bring our other guest back here." The inaba groaned and staggered back the way it had come. "Eirin will want to hear this."

"Hear what?" I asked, possibilities floating through my mind. I guess it couldn't be good news, if she had been attacked, but surely it couldn't be that bad.

Maybe I'd have company sometime soon…

"You know the crazy girl you made me follow?" She put her hands on her hips, looking for all the world like an angry Eirin. "She's gonna attack this full moon. And I'm _not _watching her any more."

"Oh." I wasn't really sure whether to be scared or amused. I wasn't all that surprised, though.

"Well? Aren't you going to order me to keep an eye on your precious psycho, whether I like it or not?"

I shrugged. "No." What was the use? We knew when she was coming, so it wasn't like she'd be a threat. As soon as I told Eirin, I she'd come up with a plan that would have my attacker out of here in seconds. Full moon or no.

Unless…

I pulled Tewi close to me and lifted one of her ears. "Don't tell Eirin about this, okay?" I whispered.

"About what? Not following the crazy girl anymore?"

"No, about the attack, silly!" I ruffled her hair with a grin. "It will be our secret, got it?"

The inaba gave me a strange look, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Great!" I said, clasping my hands together. "But you'll help me set a trap for her, right? We'll plan it all on our own!"

"Sure…" The rabbit's voice wavered uncertainly, but she looked me straight in the eye. "Whatever you say, Princess."

"Hmmm…" What was the best way to approach this? Figure out where she would come from and start from there? Determine her advantages? Well, the full moon was one point in her favor. I wouldn't dare go outside… But how did she know about that anyway…?

"Inaba, how did-"

"Shh, she's coming!" Tewi winked at me, and I put on my most innocent smile as Eirin walked up behind us.

"Yes? What was it that you wanted, Tewi?" She looked from the inaba's face to mine, puzzled. "Princess? Is there something you need to tell me?"

"No," I replied, staring determinedly at the wall. "Nothing."

**~.*.~**

_**A/N: **__Kaguyaaa, stop messing up my plot outline! (and I worked so hard on that outline! ;_;) _

_Oh, and for anyone who cares: the full name of Mokou's spellcard is_ Hourai: "South Wind, Clear Sky – Fujiyama Volcano"_ but it doesn't appear that way in the translation patch of the game. Think of the spell she casts here as a weaker version of the attack (that is, without the waves of red circle bullets). _


	6. Chapter 6

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 6~**

_**A/N: **Don't be fooled by the line break in the middle. This chapter is all Mokou, and the next is all Kaguya._

**~.*.~**

The full moon lent the night a ghostly atmosphere, its pale light reflecting softly off the bamboo and the mansion in front of me. I let the white rays play off my hair as I waited on the leafy path. It would be a pleasant night. I would make certain of that.

In my hand, I fingered a small set of spellcards. Once I had made the first, the rest had come easily to me. I still had several blank cards left, but I didn't want to miss this full moon. Besides, I had been patient, and now, I had waited long enough.

It was past midnight, and I still hadn't seen any sign of life from the house. The only creatures here besides me appeared to be the rabbits, a few of which gamboled about in the clearing. The rest were occupied with some kind of celebration in the back of the mansion. They were far too absorbed in their little party to notice me, but I gave them a wide berth all the same. It would just take one to sound the alarm.

Luckily, I had at least one rabbit on my side, if Tewi could be relied upon. I wouldn't be mobbed by the rabbits, so that only left Kaguya's servants (if she had any more) and my enemy herself. My hands itched to light her on fire, though I doubted I could get that close to her again. Maybe later. Maybe after I had defeated her magic.

I finished circling the house, my path ending by the window I had used to break in the last time I had been here. I didn't want to use the same entrance, but perhaps I could get in through one of the windows nearby. Tewi's luck was still on my side. Near the corner of the mansion, one of the windows had been left open. A perfect opportunity.

I quickly checked to see if there were any rabbits nearby, then dashed through the clearing to hide in the shadow of the mansion. The open window was slightly too high for me to reach easily, so I floated gently upwards and through the round opening. Careful not to make any noise, I allowed myself to drift to the floor and land on a thick mat. Though the moonlight was quite bright outside, the angle of this window let very little in. As my eyes struggled to adjust to the dimmer light, I removed one of the spellcards from my pocket. Tiny characters glowed sliver on the edge of its black surface.

A twinge of regret passed through my mind as I mouthed the name of the card. But Iwakasa's murder was deep in my past. This way, I could do some small honor to his memory. His tragic death would not be forgotten, and with it my revenge on Kaguya was just beginning. She would suffer for all the ills her cursed potion brought to the world.

I surveyed the room as best I could, taking in the looming shadows and patches of pitch black darkness. Obviously, this room had been used recently, unlike the one I had fought Kaguya in before. I tiptoed over to one of the walls, hoping to find a door. A sliding screen met my hand, and I pushed it aside and reached forward. My hand met cool silk. I almost jumped, but it was only a dress.

I quietly slid the screen shut again and turned my back on the closet. I must be in some kind of bedroom, perhaps a servant's quarters. Even more reason for me to be careful. I edged along the wall until I could feel a door behind me, but it remained stubbornly shut as I tried to tug it open. Running my hand along the doorframe, I found the problem - a set of fresh sealing charms held it closed. I could burn through them in seconds, if I needed to. They were within easy reach on the inside of the door.

The _inside_ of the door…

I whirled around, every instinct screaming that I would be attacked. That I _should_ have been attacked. Yet even as my heart rate calmed, nothing happened.

If this was a trap, it was a rather poor one.

The window was still open, and I dodged past a futon to get to it. A quick squint over my shoulder assured me that that the futon was empty, but the distraction nearly made me trip over a low seat by the window. I gripped the sill for balance and paused. Even my breath sounded loud in Eientei's dead silence. When I held it, all noise should have ceased, yet I could still hear the faintest of sighs.

Someone else _was_ here.

I let go of the windowsill and stood in the circle of moonlight. Outside of it, the room's shadows faded into one another, untouched by the pearly glow. I finally lit a small flame, banishing the shadows and revealing the form of another girl curled on the window seat, just out of the reach of the moon's rays. Kaguya.

_Kill her. Now. It would be so _easy_. So __**satisfying**__._ The fire in my palm grew brighter, cheering me on. My opponent was fast asleep. _She wouldn't even know what hit her…_

I slowly let my feet leave the ground, not trusting my footsteps to be silent, and floated lightly to her side. She was still dressed as I had seen her before, drowning in fine silk and looking the picture of innocence. I knelt next to her and cautiously brushed aside her curtain of hair, revealing her bare throat. Then I brought my flame closer and-

No. Wait.

She stirred slightly, smiling dreamily as she lifted a hand to brush away the tickling flame. As she resettled, I finally noticed that she was holding some kind of satchel between her hands.

I grinned tightly. New plan. I gently moved her hands and reached for the strap of the bag. As I began to lift it, her eyelids flickered, so I jerked it out of her grasp and dove to the other side of the room.

"_Limiting Edit,_" I called, gripping the card in one hand and Kaguya's treasures in the other. _"Tsuki no_ _Iwakasa's Curse!_"

The spellcard flashed to life and I spun a pinwheel of bullets through the room. A few pelted Kaguya, and she struggled to sit up, still blinking confusedly. As knives started to form around her, she rubbed her eyes and felt around the window seat with a frown.

"Looking for these?" I inquired, holding up satchel. She looked from the bag to me, and her eyes widened as our gazes locked. "Not so invincible now, are you?"

She finally noticed the knives aiming for her perfect little neck, and she swatted wildly at them before the line of blue sliced into her flesh. Though made by magic, their edges were still razor sharp, and she coughed blood as the phantasmal weapons cut into her. I slung another swirl of green at her and she slumped to the floor, dead for the moment.

I kept the card active as her body glowed silver and she stumbled back to life. Wary of the blue knives this time, she ducked underneath them and leaped through the green spiral to try to snatch back her treasures. I laughed and kicked her into the backstabbing circles of knives. Without her precious requests, she was helpless. Pathetic. As she crouched on the ground, her dress quickly getting torn apart by the danmaku, I strode forward, intent on dragging her further into the barrage. She noticed me and pushed herself up, wincing every time my bullets carved into her.

"Remember how you killed me?" I asked, smirking as she clenched her fists ands glared at me. "Because _I_ still remember every bullet. Yet another reason never to forgive you." I shrugged as the danmaku swirled around us, then reached toward her to shove her into another stream of red knives. "Die."

Just before I could touch her, Kaguya's form suddenly seemed to _blur_. When my hand should have connected, nothing stood in front of me but empty air. I stumbled, pushed to the ground from the side instead of the front. In that same instant, I felt Kaguya trying to tear the satchel of treasures out of my hand. I swore and dug my fingers into the material. I could not let her get them back. She refused to let go, so I set her fingers on fire. Kaguya bit back a scream as the fabric also caught on fire, but only tugged harder.

The bag ripped between us, scattering the priceless treasures onto the floor. Kaguya grabbed the nearest, holding the elegantly carved bowl in front of her like a shield.

"_Impossible Request,_" she murmured, "_Buddha's Stone Bowl – Indomitable Will!_"

A bowl of interwoven circles materialized around her and I stepped back, blinking furiously as lines of white blazed out from the shield. I could feel my own card starting to run down, and the accompanying loss of strength made it difficult to judge my movements. I tried to dive for one of the treasures, only to crash into the ground and through the lines of white as they became painfully tangible.

I looked up and saw stars. They cascaded down from the ceiling and drifted lazily toward me, but somehow, I couldn't seem to move. My head lolled against the wooden floor, too heavy to lift.

…

…

**~.*.~**

Above me, the streaks of light still glowed brilliantly, but my spellcard had broken, leaving nothing but powder. I sprang to my feet, not wanting to give Kaguya an easy opening. Behind the shimmering distortion of her spell, I could see her smiling. Did she think she had beaten me? I grabbed another card from my pocket, taking a split second to check its name.

"_Immortal: Fire Bird – Flying Phoenix!_"

Once again, I could feel the surge of power thrilling through my body, banishing the last traces of pain from my recent death. Kaguya's spell wavered strangely, then began to fade. Her impossible requests hovered beside her, but she made no move to attack or defend.

"If you want to play, you could at least be civilized about it," she scolded, her voice dripping with condescension. "It's no fun if I can't win." She gestured at the window with a dismissive flick of her hand. "Of course, if you get tired, I'll let you leave whenever you wish."

"No thanks," I snapped, releasing the power I'd been storing. I swung my arms downwards, and a fiery phoenix leaped out of my palms, aimed straight at my enemy. "I don't want to play."

"Have it your way, then." She twisted to the side, calling on another one of her treasures as she dodged. Seeing her move, I conjured another fire bird and let it fly, the roar if its wings mixing with her invocation.

"_-Fire Rat – Patient Mind!_"

My phoenix slammed straight into her, engulfing her ragged dress in churning flames. I watched her burn with a satisfied grin. To treat my revenge as a mere game? Maybe she couldn't die permanently, but I could still blast her to pieces until she swallowed her arrogance.

I curled my hands into fists, waiting impatiently for her to resurrect. The more times I could kill her, the better. Yet as the flames raged, she was still standing upright. When they finally died down, I realized she hadn't even been burned. She winked at me, drawing the last tongues of fire into a shallow circle.

"Good luck with that," she said, then spun the flames back at me.

I snarled in frustration, merging her flames with my own and sending a wave of phoenixes howling after her. One after another, they smashed into the walls, the floor, and even her body. Not a single one managed to break her spell. I gathered the flames back to me, and we faced each other in a beat of stony silence.

"It's still your move," she taunted, laughing behind her hand. I blasted her with phoenix after phoenix, and she continued to giggle. Another round, then. And another. I wanted to scream with rage – she didn't even bother to attack me, and she was still winning. I snapped out my hands, firing the danmaku as fast as I could. The phoenixes began to escape my control, crashing into the walls more often than they hit her.

"Die! Just _die_, already!" I heard my voice break, and cursed the tears of frustration stinging my eyes.

"Do you plan on doing this all night? It's getting rather boring."

I charged at her, throwing caution to the wind to smash a phoenix into her face from point blank range. As I brought my hand forward, she deflected my shot with a simple wave and raised her other hand. I slammed into the wall and froze, feeling her fingers against my neck.

"Danmaku is about _patterns_, not punches, silly." I felt a sharp pain in my shoulders, and winced as two lasers crossed through me. "Don't make me end this duel early. I still want to see what else you've got."

She backed away from me, gliding leisurely into the corner of the room. I gritted my teeth and called up yet more flaming bullets to rake the area, but the effort was starting to cost me. As I released the wave, I shuddered, feeling the heady power spilling quickly out of my grasp. No spell can last forever.

I glanced down at my card, trying to judge how long I still had. With every passing breath, the glow seemed to flicker and fade. Meanwhile, Kaguya waited at the other end of the room, leaning peacefully against the door as though we were having a pleasant chat, not a battle. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the eternal flames within me. One attack left. My heart throbbed painfully in my chest, and the card pulsed to match it.

"Kaguya!" I shrieked, and she turned to face me with a perfect, placid smile. I met her eyes, then spread my arms wide and freed my last flock of firebirds. The danmaku shattered against the wood-and-paper walls, spraying live sparks everywhere. As I fell to my knees, I used my last shed of power to call true life into the flames.

"Burn," I whispered, the world seeming to warp and twist as pain racked my body. Far off, I could hear Kaguya shouting something, but what it was, I could not make out. Nothing felt real any more.

I was falling, plunging into a dark void as silky ash spilled out of my hand.

**~.*.~**

_**A/N:** Y__es, Chapter 6 was supposed to have Kaguya's part like the others, but if I included it, this one chapter was about the length of two. So, in the interests of having something to post, I' split it up._

_Also, I messed up the name of another spellcard – the translation for Mokou's first card is "Limiting Edict: Ihakasa's Moon Curse." However, the notes on it make it obvious that the card is a reference to Tsuki no Iwakasa, the man Mokou killed to steal the Hourai elixir. Since I can't read Japanese myself, I have no idea if this is another mistranslation or if ZUN changed the name between the game and CiLR. (Or both?) So I changed the spellcard a bit to make the reference clear while reading this chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 7~**

"-you _idiot_!"

I fought down an initial surge of panic as the entire room flowered into flame. In the corner of my eye, I could see my opponent collapse to the ground in a swirl of red, but the rest of my vision was caught by the chaotic spectacle. If it hadn't been such a futile attack, the sheer power of the inferno would have been impressive, even awe-inspiring.

But why would she do this? One of the wood planks cracked loudly and I winced. Eirin would definitely put an end to our little game if she found out about it. And with all the noise the fire was making, the chance of that grew more likely each second. Another section of the wall crackled and gave in, exposing the darkened hallway behind it.

I sighed in disappointment. She'd found out already.

My mentor blasted aside the rest of the debris and rushed to my side. "Kaguya? Are you alright?"

I frowned and motioned to dismiss her. "I'm busy Eirin, okay? I don't need your help." I'd been doing perfectly fine until Mokou decided to do something _stupid_, I seethed inwardly.

Eirin folded her arms and waited patiently as the flames continued to rage. "If you say so, Princess."

"I have the situation completely under control," I continued as she refused to move. "You may leave."

Instead of obeying my command, though, she smoothed my frazzling hair. "Hush. I'm just checking that you're safe."

"Of course I'm safe," I said, scowling. "We made the elixir, didn't we? It's not like anything can really hurt me."

"Yes, Princess." I heard the faintest note of coldness in her voice and almost cringed. "But did you think about the rest of Eientei?" She gestured at the ever-growing inferno. "What if you hadn't been ready for her? She could have set the entire mansion on fire."

"I _know_…"

"If you knew about the attack, you should have told me. And don't _ever_ seal your door like that."

"I know…" I looked down at the faintly charred mat, my irritability quickly fading. Eirin still has that effect on me. "I'm sorry, I suppose..."

"I'm serious, Kaguya. If you really don't care about your safety, we can join the village. You can pick plenty of fights there with…" She eyed the still figure of my enemy slumped on the spark-showered floor. "…more _pleasant_ humans. If you're willing to risk alerting the Lunarians-"

"No!" I said instinctively. It had been so long ago… yet even now, I could easily imagine the crazed glow of their eyes the shadows of the flames. The sensation that the world was distorting, closing in on you. Then the slight shine of a Lunarian rifle in the shadows, and all that was left was atoms…

The sound of a gunshot cracked overhead, and I flinched and grabbed Eirin's hand. But it was only a beam suddenly breaking, releasing a spray of red-orange embers over us.

I let go of my mentor's hand with a nervous laugh. "I guess we should put that out."

Eirin shook her head, but she was smiling again, thank goodness. "It's your spell, Kaguya," she reminded me gently.

"Hm?" Oh, well, I suppose that way would be quicker. I knelt down and placed my hand on a patch of unburned floor, renewing my connection with the spell keeping Eientei in eternal stasis. Though the usual transfer of power was unconscious, this would take a bit more effort.

I called back the original state of the mansion, staring unfocusedly at the door in front of me as both images seemed to meld into each other. Another snap of burning wood distracted me for a second, but I continued to let my power seep deeper into the ancient structure. The fires calmed, then flicked out as their sources were overwritten by their cool, untouched state. I blinked, and that reality took hold.

Eirin blinked more rapidly, then leaned on one of the repaired walls and rubbed her forehead. "Did you really need to use that much power?" she asked.

I grinned. "Better safe than sorry~!"

"Speaking of which…" she muttered, calling up a bright danmaku-light, "Is that girl still alive?"

"Mokou?" I lit a small light of my own, then padded over to her unmoving form. Somehow, she'd managed to pass out with her hands in her pockets. It looked rather uncomfortable.

I shook her by the shoulder, but the girl didn't respond in the slightest.

"Again?" Eirin also walked over, her light bathing the area with a frigid blue glow. "I wonder if it would be best if we just-"

"Let her go? Sure." I stood up and shrugged. "I told her she could go whenever she wanted. It's not like we could keep her here."

"Certainly not. Eientei's not built to keep prisoners." She pursed her lips, then banished the steely glow hovering by her side. "If only there was a way to-"

"Oh, stop it." I added another cluster of pink bullets to the ones swirling over my palm to make up for the loss of light. "She just wants to play. It's not like she can do any permanent damage here."

"If you say so, Princess." Eirin yawned, undoing the ribbon in her hair and shaking out her braid. "Where's Tewi when you need her?"

"Probably asleep, like any normal person." I stifled a yawn of my own. "Or youkai, I suppose. Anyway, I'm not going to get the chains. You do it."

"Yes, Princess." She rose to her feet with a sigh.

"Don't bother to hurry." Mokou looked dead the world, even if she probably wasn't. I wondered what she'd say tomorrow, waking up in the middle of Eientei again. She certainly wasn't shy about inviting herself in, but this was the first time she'd be staying the night. If we were going to keep fighting, maybe I should just tell her to use the front door…

Eirin paused and turned around. "Oh? Kaguya, did you say something?"

"Hm? No, of course not."

She still seemed uneasy. "I could have sworn-"

"I think we both need to get some sleep," I said, rubbing my eyes. "What time is it? It's way past –_Watch out!_"

A silvery circle shimmered into existence by Eirin's side, and she quickly backed away from the magic. I ducked in front of her, curious. It seemed like danmaku, but-

The crash of an explosion filled the air, and my vision seared white.

…

…

I heard someone cry out in pain, but the sound was distorted, as if I was underwater. A whistling roar shuddered nearby, and my side was splashed with searing danmaku. I rolled away from the source, then stumbled upwards.

What…?

"Ah-? Let me go!" As far as I could make out with my fuzzy vision, Eirin was struggling to escape Mokou, but the fire-winged girl had managed to knock my mentor to her knees. I shook my head, trying to quiet the incessant ringing. As the fuzziness started to recede, a silver circle blazed in front of me, and I fell back, remembering to cover my eyes just in time. Even through my closed eyelids, I could still see the flash. I heard Eirin cry out again, and when I opened my eyes, Mokou held a tongue of flame to her throat.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still too woozy to comprehend the scene.

Mokou glanced between Eirin and me, then made a sharp, flicking gesture with her free hand. "Taking revenge." I dove to the side, just barely avoiding her stream of danmaku. Turning to face her again, I called a glowing pendant into my hand.

Ah, so the game was back on!

"_Impossible Re_-"

"Don't even try it." Mokou summoned another burst of red, letting the bullets graze Eirin's shoulder as she aimed them at me."I'd rather kill _you_, but I'll settle for your servant if I have to." She toyed with the flame in her hand, but Eirin didn't even flinch.

"Go ahead. Kaguya, escape while you can."

"But-" I dropped the pendant, confused. "Eirin, this is my fight. You shouldn't get involved." I bit my lip despondently.

My mentor's reassuring smile twisted to a grimace of pain as another circle exploded between us, washing red and white bullets over her. "I'm sorry, Princess."

I glared at her, then at Mokou. "Stop it! This was supposed to be _our_ game! And _you_ were supposed to lose!"

"Every time?" The girl gave me a bitter smile. "Oh, I realize I can't end your life permanently, but I'll get as close as I possibly can. And, as a start…" Eirin gasped, her shoulder bruising and blistering as Mokou sent a line of bullets through her arm.

"-Wait! Mokou, please -"

"I'll be fine, Princess," Eirin interrupted, "Don't worry for my sake."

"Will she really?" Mokou's eyes flashed with an insane glee as she saw me flinch. "Of course, Kaguya, I'd rather have your life instead. I suppose I'd like an apology as well, but…" She smiled viciously. "That wouldn't be nearly enough, would it?"

"…I don't know?" I whispered, eyes wide. "Just… Eirin…"

My mentor took charge, pushing Mokou's flaming hand away. "It's useless," she said, steel entering her voice, "I'm just as immortal as the Princess. You'll gain nothing by murdering either of us."

Mokou shrugged. "Well, at least this way, I'll have the satisfaction of getting revenge for the last time I was here." She glanced up, gesturing to the roof above me. "And there's still a few more hours of moonlight left, so I might as well use them." She closed her hand as the ceiling warped and buckled for a second, then exploded in a rain of fire, wood and danmaku. I jumped back with a shudder, whisking the corner of my dress out of the pale ray of moonlight.

"Don't like it, huh?" The girl grinned cruelly at my fear. "Did you ever imagine what it was like, Kaguya, when you toyed with my family?" She destroyed another section of ceiling, and I retreated further into the remaining shadows. "Did you think you could make people's lives a game, and get away with it?" She drew a pulsing red card from her pocket and spread her wings wide, then pointed at the ceiling directly above her and Eirin.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, but I wasn't using my powers. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Not _Eirin_-

I rushed forward, only to be met with another white blast of heat.

...

…

**~.*.~**

The full moon was even more beautiful than I had imagined.

How long had it been since I had seen it like this? I had spent so many years cowering in Earth's shadows that I couldn't even remember it anymore…

I reached up, blocking the silver orb with my palm, but I couldn't stop the rest of the light from illuminating my body. The sensation felt strange, pricking at memories I had thought forgotten. In another time and another place, I had walked in that light. I had called it home, and no matter how far I ran, no matter how well I hid, it was still calling to me.

I lay back and shivered. The moon was too cold. Too pure. I didn't belong in its light anymore, not with my tainted body and my corrupted soul…

Were they watching me still? I wondered. Could they see me now, exposed to any Lunarian's careful eyes? Did they even remember me, a princess who broke their law once, but a girl who sinned for eternity?

I suppose it didn't matter, really, not in the end…

I closed my eyes, hoping to slip back into the painless void of unconsciousness. No more nightmares, please, not tonight. Not ever.

These dark hours should have been a game, an amusing distraction from my self-imprisonment. But a game needs rules, and if she broke them, I wouldn't play. I couldn't. Not with mortal lives at stake…

A sudden stab of panic yanked me back to reality. Eirin? Was she-

I jerked myself onto my knees, ignoring the scream of pain in my limbs and the blackness threatening at the corners of my world. With a desperate effort of will I raised my head and stared dumbly at the mountain of debris in the center of the moonlight. Where…? I inched one hand in front of the other, crawling to the pile. As I neared it, a corner of red cloth caught the corner of my eye.

No. Oh no, please, no.

I leaned against a blackened beam of wood, tugging futilely at my friend's hand. No, no, no. She couldn't be dead, right? She was only covered in splinters and shreds of wood. That's not enough to kill, is it? I shook her a little harder, frightened tears starting to slip out of my eyes.

"Come on, wake up…" I brushed a few slivers off her still face, revealing shallow cuts crisscrossing her skin. "Help me, Eirin…"

Nothing. No response. I slumped down in defeat, my tears spilling faster, hotter.

How dare she? I – I would kill her for this! And I would _mean_ it! I clenched my hands until my nails dug into my palms. Revenge? I would _show_ her revenge!

But why… _why_ did it have to be Eirin?

"Heh, looks like I missed the fireworks."

I jumped up in surprise, only to collapse unceremoniously back to the charred floor. "Tewi?" I struggled back to a sitting position, watching the white-eared rabbit with narrowed eyes. "Where have -? What –?"

She stretched and popped a round dumpling into her mouth. ""S like I told ya," she said, still chewing, "I missed the fi'works." The rabbit casually kicked at a piece of debris, sending it bouncing out of the moonlight drenched circle. "Sorry. Did ya need me for anything?"

"I – I – _yes!_" I sputtered, rendered speechless by her nerve. "We had a plan, remember? You were supposed to warn me about her!" I pulled myself up with a stray beam, balancing precariously between pain and rage. "You were supposed to _help me_!"

"Was I?" She shrugged. "Musta forgot. Eh, no harm done."

"No harm done? Really?" I kept my voice deathly calm, staggering toward her with as much dignity as I could muster in my weakened state. "Eirin is _dead_, when you could have helped me save her. And you say there's _no harm done?_"

The youkai sidled away from my reaching fingers, then hopped on the pile of ceiling fragments. "Eh, I guess that's a bit of a lie. But better Doctor Crazy than me."

"_I'll kill you for that!_" I screamed at her, lunging at the mountain. "You – you little-"

"Hey, it isn't personal." She bounded away again, reappearing by Eirin's body. "Calm down, yeah?"

"No!" I punched the debris instead, succeeding only in scratching up my hand and restarting my frustrated tears.

"Geez, and she's not even dead. You mooninites sure are-"

"What?" I cut her off, already running to Eirin's side. "She's still-"

"-alive, yes," my friend murmured weakly. "Princess, is she-"

"Who? Mokou?" I took a quick glance around the room, though I already knew the answer. "She's gone. We'll have to get Tewi to track her. But if we bring enough rabbits, we can overwhelm her and-"

"Nun-uh." Tewi crossed her arms, and shook her head. "You were worried about Ms. Eirin dying? You two are strong. Me 'n my rabbits? She'd slaughter us in one attack." The youkai frowned, scratching her ears. "'S good thing I knew to keep 'em away for tonight."

Eirin pushed herself onto one elbow, glaring menacingly despite her awkward position. "You knew about this? And you deliberately left the princess unguarded?"

"Yeah?" The rabbit returned Eirin's glare with one of her own. "We made a deal, and this wasn't part in it. I'm not risking my sister's lives for your princess's stupid idea of a game."

"It's not a game!" I blurted out. "Not any more. She's gone too far. We need to find her, and destroy her for –"

"For what? Revenge? Please." She gave her ear on last scratch, then hopped past me and skipped to the door. "If you want this kind of dirty work done, do it yourself," she finished, and slammed the door behind her.

"Alright, fine!" I said to the air. "I'll find her myself, even if I have to search the entire forest!"

"No." Eirin tugged at the edge of my tattered skirt, so I sat knelt next to her. "It's too dangerous."

"Why?" The longer we waited, the further she could run.

"Did you forget, Kaguya?" Eirin gave laughed softly. "The full moon."

"Oh," I said numbly. "But-"

"Princess, we're already too exposed right now. We can't risk discovery further. I doubt we could fight off that girl in this state, but if the Lunarians got involved…"

"…we'd lose for sure."

"Yes."

"So there's nothing we can do? She attacks like this, and we can't even retaliate?" I struck my hand against the ground, wincing as I hit a splinter. "That's as good as giving up!"

"Not quite." My friend placed her hand over mine, and I helped her to sit up. "At the moment, we just have to focus on rebuilding our defenses." She lifted her arm at the gaping hole in the ceiling, then shuddered and turned pale.

"And you need to focus on healing," I said gently. "All the same, though, we need to make sure she doesn't attack again any time soon." I frowned. "If Tewi wasn't so stubborn, she could, I don't know, distract Mokou or something…"

"Don't make the same mistake twice, Kaguya. She's proven herself untrustworthy." Eirin leaned her head on my shoulder, and we huddled away from the cold light. "Besides… there might be another alternative."

**~.*.~**

_**A/N: **__Tasukete Eirin~!_

_In all seriousness, though, I hope that didn't ruin the moment, even if this fic's place in the timeline means I can't actually kill Eirin off for real. Kaguya was right to be worried, though, because I'm using the interpretation that Eirin is__** not**__ a Hourai immortal._

_And yes, I'm aware of the (re)translation and Touhou wiki changes that made it clear that __**(spoilers)**__ Eirin is a Hourai immortal __**as of**__ Imperishable Night. _

_Of course, all that means is that she took the elixir sometime before IN. It never says when… _

; )


	8. Chapter 8

**Rekindle and Release**

**~Chapter 8~**

Even after a week, the taste of victory was sweet in my mouth. And, hey, by now, Kaguya might be healed. The thought lent a slight spring to my step, and I whistled a triumphant tune as I trod down the dead leaves of the forest.

Perhaps Eientei would be rebuilt by now. Just as Kaguya would be getting her hopes up, I could swoop in and blast them to beautiful fragments. I ground a stray leaf into the mud beneath my foot. Once upon a time, I had been the one with a mansion, a family, and a happy future. Well, maybe not the last one. And nothing could replace that life I might have led.

But to take Kaguya's happiness, destroy her dreams for the rest of eternity… it was like a second elixir to me. For the past week, I had been _alive_.

I let my feet carry me where they willed, content with wandering purposelessly now that I had a purpose to return to. The Forest of the Lost was truly enormous – even counting the paths I had painstakingly memorized to Eientei, I still didn't know where most of the trails led. This particular one was a bit of an odd one – here and there, flat stones seemed to mark a human-made path, but I had been following it back home from a day's walk away from the human village.

Wrapped up in blissful contemplation of Kaguya's demise, I didn't notice the cat until I had stepped on its tail. Correction, _tails_.

It hissed and spat at me, then took a swipe at my ankles. Since today was a good day, I picked it up and stared into its angry brown eyes.

"You're a long ways away from your owner, kitty." I laughed as it managed to claw at my fingers, for the tiny marks healed almost instantly. "Are you looking for a guide?"

The cat gave a small _mrrow_ of assent, and I patted its velvety head. "Sorry. I'm not going to be escort service after last time. Go find someone else to take you home. If you have one, that its." I passed a careful eye over the creature's scruffy fur, ignoring a sudden pang of jealousy. At the village, this misfit might be more welcome than I was. If she ever made it back, that is.

"Could you, _mrrr_, put me down, maybe? It's kinda awkward just hangin' here."

I swore violently and threw the bundle of fur away from me. When was last time I had encountered two-tailed cat, again? No, a _nekomata_. They didn't usually come this far into the wild, but then, they weren't liked by humans either. I snapped a quick flame into my hand. "Get lost!"

The cat just huddled further into the shadow of the bamboo, its black fur almost camouflaging into the earthy shade. "I – I'm sorry, _mrow_! Did I do something bad?" She hung her head in disappointment. "And I gotta be on best behavior."

I raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but said nothing. She wasn't really threatening enough to warrant an attack at the moment. Indeed, despite her rough exterior, her behavior seemed almost … tame.

"Ya see, it was my big mission! I have to prove myself worthy by getting a special thing from the human village." She seemed to be talking to herself more than to me, her tails twitching in agitation. "And then I got myself lost!"

I left her there, muttering to herself about tasty rabbits and distracting butterflies. I still had another hour or so before I got back to my little bamboo shelter, not that there was anything particularly important that I had to do.

Maybe I could make some more spellcards. Yeah. Something that would be effective against youkai would be pretty nice to have, actually. Or anything to get past Kaguya's spellcards and straight to her. I could start with something simple, and from there –

"Mmph!" I stumbled in surprise, knocked down by a grab from behind. Two scrawny arms circled my waist, and I looked back over my shoulder.

"Miss Human-But-Smells-Like-Magic, can you please show me the way to the human village?" Big brown eyes begged me from beneath a pair of fuzzy black ears. "Pwwease?"

I grabbed the nekomata's wrists and twisted to slam her into a sturdy stalk of bamboo. She let out a shrill screech of pain, then backed off to hiss at me from out of my arm's reach.

"Bad magic human! Be nice!" The cat girl unsheathed a nasty-looking set of claws, glaring at me with sudden malice. "You think you're strong, _mrrow_?" Her laugh had a distinct, purring quality to it. "Only stupid humans underestimate shikigami!"

Ah, that wasn't good news. Lone nekomata were definitely not a bother to me any more, but with a shikigami I might have to face her master as well. I weighed the chances, then bent down to snatch a handful of dirt. As the cat advanced with a slow, stalking pace, I hurled the debris into her eyes and whipped a tongue of flame over the path. The fire blossomed into a smoky blaze, and I kicked off the ground and sped into the burning bamboo as the nekomata pounced. Behind me, I heard the cat's shrieks of animal rage and pain, but I paid them no mind. She would get over it.

Indeed, she had been very lucky to escape with only a few minor burns.

I rocketed around an oddly bent clump of bamboo, already back on a familiar path again. Here, the chances of encountering anything besides the stray fairy were extremely slim. I checked back once more, just in case. No, the nekomata hadn't caught up, so I could return once more to my plans for Kaguya's misery.

On that thought, had her servant survived? Possibly, for I had left before making absolutely sure. Now that I thought about it, perhaps I could have waited those extra few minutes to burn away her life. Ah, even if I hadn't, though, I had undoubtedly made Kaguya shiver in her stuck-up slippers. Next time, maybe she'd understand that this wasn't just a game.

Her skull was pretty thick, but I would get the message through eventually. Or into her servant's head. Whichever came first. Personally, I hoped that her minions had a better sense of self-preservation than she did. If they got involved, well, it wasn't _my_ fault that they weren't immortal.

I hesitated, another rustle in the underbrush alerting me that the nekomata must have found me again. Grabbing onto a shoot of bamboo, I swiftly turned to match the persistent pest. Why didn't youkai ever learn to leave me alone?

I narrowed my eyes and scanned the shadows, then blinked to find a knife whizzing through my throat. A gurgling scream escaped my lips, and I plunged down into the bamboo.

…

…

Did I die before I hit the ground? I couldn't say, but I was certainly on the ground now, draped awkwardly over a crushed stalk. I shook myself up, replaying the last few seconds of my death.

Knives? But wild youkai didn't use kni-

Another glint of silver zipped through the leaves through my left, and I dove to the side and turned to face the source with a flickering fireball at the ready.

"Show yourself!"

I blinked once more and froze, a knife held inches away from my throat by a pale, dainty hand. Rage built within me, and I pushed backward, elbowing my opponent in the stomach. She let out a slight grunt of surprise, never letting go. I thrashed and twisted, heedless of the knife, but her grip was like steel.

"Kaguya, you little - " I yelped in pain, interrupted by the prick of another knife slicing across my arm. "Go and _die!_" I spat sparks onto my sleeve, calling the fabric into flame. The knife at my throat abruptly disappeared, but before I had time to smile, another blade was sprouting from my chest.

I toppled to the ground, feeling the slice and sting of several other blades as the leaves were stained with warm red.

…

…

This time I got to my feet slowly, unsure which direction would bring the next attack. Which was rather strange, because Kaguya seemed to like gloating over my deaths, prioritizing satisfaction over simplicity. Why wasn't she laughing at me now?

I suddenly dodged to the side, correctly predicting a flash of silver from the shadows to my right. Like before, I then felt a cold pressure at my throat, and found the expected knife and hand facing me. Curious about this new plan of attack, I didn't bother to resist her hold.

"To scared to face me, are you?" I taunted, but she didn't answer. The silence grew strained, and I shifted uncomfortably against my awkward position.

Just as I was beginning to think she was going to kill me with boredom, she spoke. "You are Fujiwara no Mokou, correct?"

"Yes," I said, not willing to nod with a knife that close to my neck. Playing her voice back through my head, an unpleasant realization hit me. "And… you're not Kaguya."

"My employer did not wish to disclose her name," the woman continued, no trace of emotion in her icy voice. "She said you would know who you had wronged."

Me, wronging her? I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "Yeah, yeah. What other nice things did she say?"

The knife pressed harder, drawing a thin ribbon of blood. "She told me to kill you. Repeatedly, if I have to." She sounded as detached as if we were discussing the price of a bolt of cloth. "When you beg for mercy, I am to take you to the arranged meeting place, where you will deliver a complete surrender and apology to my employer."

"Never!" I snarled, stomping her foot with as much strength as I could muster. The woman let out a slight gasp, and I used the opportunity to backfist her with a handful of flames. I twisted to catch a glance of a silver hair and cold blue eyes.

"Your choice," she said, and then there was a knife buried up to its hilt in my back.

"That wasn't even _fair_!"

**~.*.~**

The cat continued muttering to herself, unaware that she was being watched.

"… she said, if I see a person, be polite. Don't go picking fights. Don't go chasing birds. Or butterflies. Or rabbits." Here she paused, staring dreamily at the foliage. "Tasty rabbits…"

"Get outta here, pussy."

The nekomata hissed in surprise, but when the owner of the voice hopped out of the bushes, the cat sheathed her claws. "Oh, you." She tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Do I know you? You smell kinda familiar, _mrrow_."

"Yeah?"

"That's it!" The two-tailed cat purred as realization finally dawned on her. "You're that white bunny I was chasin'! You got me lost! That's mean!"

"Not my fault you wandered in here. 'S called the Bamboo Forest of the Lost for a reason, ya know."

"Yeah, well I'm a shikigami now! I'm more powerful than your stupid forest!" She waved her two tails proudly, basking in the idea of her recent windfall. "And anyways, Master Ran sent me to get something super important from the human village! It's top secret and everything!"

"Heh, that old fox's still around? And you're doing her errands? Figures."

The nekomata looked up sharply. "You know Master?"

"The rumors, yeah. Not personally."

"Great! So you know how important this is!" She pawed the ground in small, nervous circles. "Look, _mrrow_. I'm sorry about chasing you, okay? No hard feelings? 'Cuz I need to get to the human village and I got all turned around."

The rabbit-eared girl seemed to consider this, then shook her head. "Not good enough. If I hadn'ta been careful, you coulda clawed my tail off."

"Pwweease?" The black cat closed her eyes as if to recite a vow. "I promise I'll never eat bunnies again. Ever!"

"Really." The other youkai wasn't impressed. "I think you're lyin'."

"N-no! Master said not to lie!"

"Sayin' things like that makes me think ya aren't even a real shikigami." The rabbit smirked at the nekomata's disappointment. "I'm not believin' ya 'less I see this 'Master' of yours."

The cat's expression turned dark for a second, then switched from unhappiness to glowing pride. "Okay! You get me to the village, _mrow_, and I'll take you to Master Ran!"

"Suuure, you will," the rabbit drawled, trying to mask the intrigued prick of her ears. "And you'll have rabbit for dinner, huh?"

"Nuh-uh! We're having yucky tofu that I'm supposed to get from the-" Her eyes suddenly widened in alarm. "If Master asks, you didn't hear that!"

"Hear what? I didn't hear nothin'." The other youkai finally took pity on the cat. "Seems that Ran's goin' soft if she's takin' on kittens like you."

"Hey!"

"But if she's really the kitsune I think she is… well. I s'ppose it couldn't hurt to do her shikigami a little favor."

"Um, okay?" The nekomata seemed puzzled by this last comment, but she shrugged it off and padded off through the bamboo with a pleased smile. "This way to the village, _mrrow_?"

"Nah, that goes-" The rabbit youkai bounded after her with an amused huff. "Look, just follow me."

**~.*.~**

"She never surrendered?" I raised an eyebrow incredulously, though of course the woman couldn't see it from beneath the shadow of my hooded cloak. "How many times did you kill her?"

Despite the protection of loose robes Eirin and I wore to conceal our identities, the woman seemed to stare straight into my eyes. I felt a little queasy at the high number she mentioned, but I was certain she spoke the truth. Besides, that brute deserved it after what she nearly did to my friend.

I jumped slightly as Eirin put her hand on my shoulder. "Satisfied, Princess?"

I hesitated, wishing I could have slain Mokou myself, but this would have to do. For the moment. "Yes, Eirin. You may dismiss her."

I stepped back on the rough sand, watching Eirin and the strange, silver-haired assassin out of the corner of my eye. My mentor withdrew an ornate pocket watch from her cloak, offering it to woman, who held it aloft in the shimmering moonlight.

"Is it fixed?" she asked, carefully running her fingers over the elaborate carvings of the watch's case.

"See for yourself." Eirin took back the trinket, opening it of reveal a deceptively ordinary clock face. Yet from where I stood, I could feel the warping, twisting sensation of an incredible spell. Whatever she had done to it, the thing now radiated immense power. Almost like my treasures, actually…

The stranger seemed to sense it too, for she quickly twitched the artifact out of my friend's hands. "Perfect." She nodded once to me, then to Eirin, who smiled faintly.

"You may go," I said imperiously, hoping to get away from here as quickly as was politely possible. I wasn't even sure where we were, exactly, but it was… unsettling. The deathly silent lake and the abundance of moonlight weren't helping my nerves.

The assassin stared through me once more with those piercing blue eyes, and I squirmed under her gaze. It was disturbingly similar to Eirin's icy glares, and I didn't like it one bit.

Finally, she spoke once more. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you." She turned around, putting on a dark cloak of her own, then taking one last look at Eirin. "And… thank you." With those words, I sensed a shudder in time's flow, and she vanished in an instant. A trail of faint footsteps appeared briefly on the sand, only to be washed away by a lapping wave.

"Well," I said softly after a minute's peace, "that went better than I expected."

"Did you really expect her to fail?" Eirin took my hand in hers, and we walked carefully along the lifeless shore.

"I'm not sure," I replied, trying to sort out the conflicting impressions. "It's just… she's our problem, isn't she? We can't rely on assassins all the time. She'll catch us one day."

My friend sighed. "I know. I would have done this by myself, rather than bringing you out here, but…"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight until you've fully healed." I smiled in the depths of my cloak. Eirin's power was far greater than my own, but I liked being the one to play nursemaid for once. When else would I ever have this opportunity?

"I'm fine, Princess," she insisted, despite the fact that I could see her wince slightly as she walked. For the past few days, she'd been taking some kind of medicine to speed her recovery and keep awake to work on the watch. Had she spent less time rushing around to satisfy my demand for revenge, perhaps she would have healed completely by now…

I thought back on the surreal circumstances that had led to this frenzy of work.

For the first few nights, Eirin had muddled about in her lab while I busied myself with fixing the mansion and reinforcing the windows with charms against entry. When Mokou failed to attack again, I fell back into an uneasy semblance of my usual routine. Last week's horrors became a recurring nightmare, one that kept me awake to scan the windows and wander into Eirin's rooms at every possible opportunity. Eventually, she threw me out, and I followed the inaba around instead.

Rabbits are so sweet when they behave.

_Why couldn't they be like that when I need them most?_

I think Eirin must have instructed Tewi to distract me, because the next time I slid back the door to my friend's lab, she had disappeared. I sent the inaba to scour the mansion, then grabbed their leader and told her to search the forest too. I spent the rest of the night pacing up and down Eientei's endless corridors, regretting my imagination and Eirin's instructions to stay inside.

What if Mokou had broken in while I had been playing? What if she had taken Eirin by surprise? What if my friend had been taken hostage?

Should I surrender? No, never! But where would I find my enemy? If I did, then…

I almost did it, almost rushed off into the forest with the picture of a daring rescue spurring my steps. But what if I was too late? What if Mokou never intended to keep Eirin as a hostage?

_What if she was already…_

As it turned out, Eirin reappeared the next morning, baffled at my enthusiastic welcome. I bombarded her with questions, which she brushed off with practiced ease.

"Just do as I say, and everything will be all right."

I nodded, taking her cloak and bow as she stretched gingerly and reapplied the dressings on her half-healed wounds. Eirin could take care of herself. I knew that. I knew that I was really only getting in her way by staying. But I stayed anyway, and she finally showed me what was in the package she had brought back from her mysterious excursion. Inside was the silver pocket watch, though its surface then was dented and tarnished. I had picked it up and shaken it lightly, sensing the tattered remains of an ancient spell.

"What is it?"

Eirin narrowed her eyes, unwilling to reveal her plans. I countered with a pleading stare of my own.

"Is it something to do with distracting Mokou?" I asked, suddenly recalling her words to me after the attack on Eientei.

"Yes," My mentor carefully moved aside the shimmering beakers on her desk and put the watch in their place. "It's payment."

"For?"

An uncharacteristically playful smile had passed over her face. "The assassin we're hiring."

I nearly tripped over a rock half-covered by the sand, then looked back to where Eirin had sat down to rest in the shadow of the overhanging trees. We hadn't really been walking for very long, and I was disturbed by how quickly she seemed to tire. I crossed back to her side and sat down in a ripple of silky folds.

"You don't look 'fine' to me, Eirin," I said, and she avoided my eyes.

"I'm the doctor here, Princess. Are you questioning my judgment?"

I laughed and wrapped her in a loose hug, careful not to touch her shoulder. "Of course not. I'm just impatient to get back to my futon."

"My apologies, Prin-"

"Stop it." I leaned against her good arm, watching the lazy distortions of the moon's reflection in the lake. "You're already doing everything for me. I don't need you to do more."

She cautiously removed her hood, allowing me to see the wry quirk at the corner of her mouth. "But you're still not satisfied."

"You know me too well."

"Kaguya…"

I turned away from the lake to meet her knowing grey gaze. "I'm afraid. Mokou will be back. And I don't know what I'll do if you aren't as lucky next time."

She blinked, and I thought I saw a trace of anger before her expression returned to contemplative calm.

"No, it's not a matter of power. You could probably toss both of us aside like we were mere fairies.

"But this isn't about that. We might be fighting each other for years. Decades. Centuries. You heard what that woman said – she never surrendered. And if she doesn't, then it's only a matter of time. All she has to do is get in one attack, and it's all over."

I took a deep breath, wishing Tewi had lent me her luck tonight. "That's why I want to make another dose of the elixir. And I want you to drink it."

**~.*.~**

_**A/N:**__ Brilliant idea, sending assassins after someone who's not super stable in the first place. But hey, that means I get to write Sakuya, though that's probably not her name yet. (Remi gave her that one.) And the cat is Chen, of course. You know what I said about using characters that are probably not alive yet? Yeah… that's definitely going to be a thing with this fic. _

_(Although, it's not like we actually have definite answers as to how old Chen and Sakuya are, just probable guesses.)_

_Oh, and if you're wondering how Mokou totally failed to register that two tails = youkai, remember that Chen's other ability (besides being a shikigami) is the power to surprise. Same as Kogasa, actually. Hm._

_Also, what do you guys think of the third-person intermission? Is the vagueness okay, or is it just annoying to read? Should I have put that part in italics, because it's supposed to be separate from the usual Mokou-Kaguya narrations? I'm going to be using these interludes quite a bit for the rest of the fic, so comments would be appreciated~_

_Oh, wait, wait! One more thing! Next weekend, I'm finally going to put up those revised chapters! Yay?_


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